Farscape Epic RPG: Future Tense
by Chant99
Summary: Based on my RPG game. Set 11 cycles into the future. Please read the foreword for addition information on story setting and new characters.
1. Foreword

THE FARSCAPE EPIC RPG UNIVERSE: NEW CHARACTERS & SETTING.  
  
Author's Note: This story was written based on the characters from my Farscape RPG group. This was my first try at fanfiction and thought that others might enjoy it so I thought I'd try posting it here to see what others thought. But first I need to explain a bit about our RPG so you can follow the extra characters.  
The name of the group is "Farscape Epic RPG" and it can be found on Yahoo groups for those who wish to look us up. The game is based in an alternate Farscape universe that diverges from the shows timeline somewhere after Talyn's birth but before the Chiana/D'argo relationship.  
The Berret character here is basically the same Shrike 457 character from the "Fallen Angel" series posted here at Fanfiction.net. Though the original meeting between Chiana and the Shrike took place in a different way in the game.  
The other new characters in this story are original player characters.  
  
Andar Murdough - is a Sebacean teacher from a forgotten and lost colony. Andar's people have lost so much knowledge over the cycles that space flight is considered science fiction. Andar is abducted by aliens who experiment on his brain trying to increase intelligence. The project works much better then they thought and Andar steals a shuttle and eventually finds his way to Moya. Andar becomes a sponge for any sort of knowledge and begins to go through Moya's data banks learning everything he can. He often sees machines or gadgets in his mind and will disappear for days into his workshop to build them.  
  
Malika Phatan - is a 125-year-old Delvian teenager. After spending a number of cycles as a Peacekeeper slave aboard a command carrier, she and her mother escape in a Prowler, but at the cost of the life of a young PK officer who fell in love and secretly married Malika. After a time of running and hiding, the pair run into a Syndicate Shrike and the meeting leaves young Malika with an intense hatred and distrust for the Enforcers when the assassin kills a client Malika took a job bodyguarding for, and almost kills her and her mother in the process. Sometime after that, Malika's mother is tragically killed, leaving the girl alone. She hears a story about an escaped Leviathan with a Delvian Pa'u aboard and sets out to find the living ship with the hopes of fulfilling her mother's dream of her becoming a Pa'u. She finds Moya and Zhaan (who is alive in our game) and the older Delvian agrees to take her in. However, now there is a Shrike aboard Moya as Chiana's companion and she is having a hard time controlling the tendencies for violence she developed during the hard life she lived on the run from the Peacekeepers. Through young, Malika is also a skilled healer and thanks to her parents, an educated student of exobiology. She sets up a small lab on one of Moya's lower tiers, mostly to hide out from having to be around Berret ... and possibly Andar. Both Andar and Malika feel an attraction to each other, but the Delvian isn't sure she wants to open her heart to another after what happened to her Peacekeeper husband.   
  
Sean Crichton - 70 years after the disappearance of astronaut John Crichton, his descendant Sean uses John and DK's research to construct the Wander module. In an attempt to prove that his ancestor's theories were sound, Sean repeats the slingshot effect and is also thrown halfway across the universe only with a slightly different result. The Wander module is somehow draw backward in time to the Farscape module's location and is expelled from a wormhole near Moya. Sean finds himself stunned to be surrounded by a group of aliens and suddenly faced with a family legend. (At the time this story was written. The character of Sean Crichton had not yet joined the group. Later stories in this time frame explain his absence.)  
  
ADDITION CHARACTERS: Created by Chant99 for this story.  
  
Andrea (Sun Crichton): Age 8, oldest daughter of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton.   
  
Missy (Melissa Sun Crichton): Age 6, youngest daughter of Aeryn Sun and John Crichton.  
  
Jalen ('Len ): Age 8, son of Chiana and Jared Berret.  
  
Chulee ('Lee): Age 6, daughter of Chiana and Jared Berret.  
  
The nicknames of 'Len & 'Lee for Chiana and Berret's children, stem from a Nebari custom I invented for the story where close friends and family members used a shortened version of a person's name as a sign of a close or intimate relationship. Thus Jalen and Chulee are sometimes referred to as 'Len and 'Lee by their parents and other members of the crew. Chiana sometimes calls Berret - 'Ret, while Chiana is called 'Ana by her brother when they met. Nerri's name is not shortened in the story but would probably be something like 'Ri if it was. The ( ' ) is suppose to indicate a slight Nebari accent on the name. I leave that up to the read to imagine exactly how that would sound to them.  
  
This story takes place approximately 11 cycles after the show's timeframe and my RPG game. At this time it has been already discovered that Berret is a human that had been abducted by alien slavers and sold to the Scarren Black Syndicate as a slave. Being a human is what had allowed Berret to survive the implantation of the experimental microbes that normally killed the average Sebacean. The microbes alter Berret's physiology to the point where he can no longer be considered an Earth human and in the beginning he feels no connection to John or Sean as being a member of the same species. Unlike the two Crichtons, he has no desire to return to Earth as he would no longer fit in even if he could remember all of his past on his homeworld. Sometime during his time aboard Moya, Zhaan (who is alive, as well as Crais and Talyn) helps him retrieve some memories from his past, one of which is his first name - Jared.  
At John insistence that humans generally have two names, Berret adopts the name Jared Berret. While John sometimes refers to Berret as J.B., Chiana on the other hand often ignores or refuses to use the name Jared in the beginning. As she starts to realize she had feelings for the ex-assassin beyond their relationship as friends and crewmates, she finds she's strangely reluctant to acknowledge anything that was part of Berret's life before their meeting and sticks to the name Berret which she had given him. As time goes on and the pair go through various trials and adventures and are Bonded (Nebari version of marriage) the reluctance fades and she's comfortable using his first name, only falling back on the name Berret in times of severe stress or trouble.  
Thanks for bearing with me through this long explanation. I truly hope you enjoy the story.  
  
Chant99 


	2. Chapter 1

A huge fist slammed into Berret's chest and sent him hurling across the Transport Pod's cockpit. The rear bulkhead stopped his flight abruptly and his limp body slid to the deck. His vision faded in and out. He remembered staring up at the flickering lights of the Pod and then Crichton... rather two Crichtons, that sometimes metamorphosis into three Crichtons before blending back into just two again, kneeling over him repeatedly telling him to "hang on." In a mental fog he thought, "Hang on to what?" Then decided it was too complicated to worry about and let the blackness take him.  
  
He seemed to float for a while and then drift back into the light. This time the light fixtures above his head were different. A blurry image of Zhaan filled his sight and the image kept asking him questions in an echoing voice that made the words hard to understand. He was just about to ignore the interrogation and close his eyes again when Chiana slipped into his field of view. She started down at him with worried dark eyes and then turned to Zhaan asking, "Is he going to be all right?"  
The Nebari girl's voice had the strange echo quality to it also.  
Zhaan said something that didn't sit well with the younger woman, but the conversation had ceased to concern Berret. What had Berret's interest now at that moment was the little clone of herself that Chiana had balanced on one hip. The clone was also looking at him with worry in her eyes. Only instead of being dark, her eyes were bright blue. Berret at first thought the clone had a clone of her own clutched under one small arm, then he realized the third reproduction of Chiana was actually a doll. Berret chuckled to himself at the absurdity of Chiana having a clone, who in turn had a clone of herself, He let go of the amusing thought and drifted back off into the darkness.  
  
When he next remembered waking up, this time the world around him seem more real and solid to him. Someone was holding his hand and turning his head slowly to the left he saw Chiana's face smiling down at him.   
"Are you back with us now?" she asked.  
"Was I away?" he asked in return in a weak voice, not sure what had happened.  
"Yes, for a very long time. We thought we'd lost you," she said, in an unusually serious tone.  
"What happened?" he managed to croak out, his voice dry.  
Chiana rose, going to a nearby table. She poured a glass of water and helped him drink it before answering him.  
"You and John were coming home from a trade mission when the Pod hit a Proton Annex. The energy discharge exploded the navigation station and flung you into the bulkhead. John got you back to Moya as quick as he could. You had a serious concussion and brain trauma that Zhaan thought your microbes couldn't repair in time... or at all. Do you remember anything about the accident?" Chiana asked.  
"Only strange dreams..." he paused, looking at her with a funny look on his face.  
"What's wrong?" she asked worried again.  
"What happened to your hair?" he asked, slowly reaching up to feel one of the long white locks.  
Relieved, Chiana giggled slightly. "Nothing, it's been like this for a long time. Don't tell me you haven't been paying attention to me again," she said teasingly.  
"I don't remember it being this...." he didn't finish what he was going to say because a scrape and a sniffle at the door caught his attention. Standing just inside the doorway was the little Chiana clone he remembered seeing in his strange dream. Holding her hand was a little boy, older then the girl, but with a Nebari's short jet-black hair. Both children had the same bright blue eyes. Noticing his attention elsewhere, Chiana turned and followed his gaze toward the door. Seeing the children she smiled lovingly.   
"Jalen... Chulee... Come see your father," called Chiana to the children at the door.  
Bewildered, Berret was too stunned to ask any further questions before both children charged into the room. The girl leaped straight onto the bed, landing on Berret's stomach and driving the wind out of him.  
"Daddy, are you okay?" she asked hugging him as he tried to get his breath back.  
"Chulee! Be careful, your Daddy's still sick," said Chiana to her daughter.  
"I told her not to jump," said Jalen, rolling his eyes at his little sister. "But she never listens."  
The little girl stuck her tongue out at her big brother. "He's always so bossy," she complained then turned back to Berret. "I'm sorry, Daddy," she said.  
Berret looked at Chiana, obviously not knowing what was happening. Chiana's smile faded as she realized at that moment something wasn't right. He recovered for the children's sake and tried to cover up his confusion.  
"It's alright... you didn't hurt me, Chulee. I was just surprised and happy to see you both is all," he said hugging the little girl to him. He looked over at his son standing next to the bed.  
"I tried to tell her you were too sick to play, Dad," the boy said.   
"It's okay, Jalen. You're doing a good job looking after your sister. Thank you."  
He tussled the boy's hair and the youngster smiled at his praise.  
  
"Okay kids, it's time for your father to rest some more," said Chiana. "Go find Andrea and Missy to play with while I talk to your Daddy."  
"Okay Mom," said Jalen. "Come on Chulee."  
"Bye, Daddy," said the little girl, giving him a kiss before jumping down from the bed. Both children ran from the room in search of their playmates. When they were alone again Chiana asked,  
"You don't remember them... do you?" It was really more a statement then a question.  
"Chiana, I..." he started but couldn't find the right words to say or apologize with.  
"It's okay, Jared," Chiana said taking his hand. "Zhaan said there might be some memory loss with the injury, especially with your past history with the collar," she explained.  
"Who are Andrea and Missy?" he asked.  
"They're Aeryn and John's little girls," she supplied.  
Berret thought a microt and then started to ask in bewilderment, "How? When?"  
"Jared... love, you have been aboard Moya with us for over eleven cycles. Jalen is almost eight cycles old and Chulee is six. We have been bonded for nine cycles," Chiana told him, stoking his cheek.  
"Bonded?" asked Berret, not sure what the term was supposed to mean.  
"Yes, Bonded.... mated... Crichton refers to it as married or 'being hitched' or something like that."  
"When did this happen?" he asked next, hoping the question would not anger her for some reason.  
"Just after the war started," she said as a matter of fact.  
"WHAT WAR!" he said in alarm, bolting slightly upright in the bed.  
"Calm down, it has nothing to do with us. In fact, it's been out greatest blessing. The Peacekeepers and the Scarren Imperium have finally gone to blows... about nine and a half cycles ago. Somebody blew up somebody else's thingamajig and they been killing each other ever since. We've heard Scorpius is dead, killed when Scarren raiders ambushed his Command Carrier. Neither side has time to bother chasing or hunting us anymore. We're free to go and do what we want now. We've been transporting cargo and making a pretty good profit at it. That's what you and John were doing when the accident happened."   
She traced designs with the tip of her finger on the palm of his hand as she talked. She looked him in the eye, holding his gaze with hers.  
"We've also had time to raise families. This is the happiest I've ever been in my life," she said.  
  
"Bonded... and with children?" thought Berret aloud. Chiana smiled and gave him an affirming nod.  
"I didn't know Nebari and human DNA were compatible," he said in wonder, thinking of their offspring.  
Chiana shrugged and threw up her arms; "Surprise!" was all she said while giving him a big smile.  
"What else has happened?" he asked.  
"Jothee is aboard," Chiana told him.  
"D'argo's boy? He found him? When?" asking his questions so fast Chiana laughed.  
"We found him shortly after we were bonded... and he's not a 'boy' anymore. He's grown into quite a man and a warrior like his father now. In fact, he's on duty in command at this micron."  
"D'argo must be very happy," thought Berret out loud again.  
"He is... and if he wasn't, Zhaan would see to it that he'd soon would be," said his wife.  
"Zhaan and D'argo?" Berret said incredibly. "I never would have thought..."  
"That they'd get together?" she finished for him. "Why? Did you ever think you and I would?" she queried.  
"I don't know," he said after a micron's thought, then asked, "...did I?"  
Chiana smiled and bent down toward him. "You didn't have too. I took care of that for you," she told him and then kissed him. At first he couldn't remember what he was suppose to do, but she took care of that too.  
  
  
  
  
The others stopped by and visited later in the day. John looked older and had grown a beard, but was still basically the way he remembered him. Aeryn had changed quite a bit. Gone was the hardened Peacekeeper. Parenthood had softened the Sebacean's disposition, but she was still the same strong woman inside. Their two girls had Aeryn's looks. While their youngest, Missy, had her father's sense of the ironic; Andrea was more serious like her mother. Zhaan looked in and changed the bandage on his head. While she was there D'argo arrived and to Berret's shock, greeted him as a close friend. The Luxan didn't understand Berret's bewilderment until Chiana explained that he didn't recall most of the last ten cycles.  
"So," thundered the Warrior as he straddled a chair by the bed, "We are back to the days when we despised and hated each other. Were the wrong look or word would have us at each other's throats, are we, Shrike?" He asked in a serious tone, then his face soften and he chuckled. "Don't worry, my friend," he said slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "You and I have fought side by side and back to back in battle too many times for it to come to that again. Those times are far behind us even if you don't remember. When you're better I'll tell you about some of our adventures," promised D'argo  
"And he'll tell you over and over and over again!" said a unfamiliar voice from the door. Berret looked over and saw a young man who was obviously half Luxan and half Sebacean. "Father loves to tell his old campaign stories and war tales," said D'argo's son as he ambled into the room. "Uncle John and I can recite them word for word now."  
"Jothee?" asked Berret.  
"Hello, Uncle. How are you feeling?" the young Luxan asked clasping Berret's hand.  
"Better now, but still not remembering much of anything," he answered.  
"It'll come back with Zhaan's help," Jothee said reassuringly. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back up to command. I just wanted to come down and see how you were."  
The youth turned and left followed shortly by his father and Zhaan. Leaving him alone with Chiana again.  
"Things have certainly changed from what I remember," he said to her.  
"Yes, they have... for the better. We're a family now, all of us," replied the Nebari woman. "Malika and Andar will try to be up to see you soon too," she added.  
Berret felt something was missing. After thinking about it for several microts, he had it.  
"What happened to Rygel?" he inquired.  
Chiana laughed at the mention of the Hynerian's name. "I almost forgot! His Royal Frogness has been re-established on his throne. His cousin was overthrown shortly after we arrived in Hynerian space. It seems he wasn't such a good Dominar and once word of Rygel's return reached his subject's fuzzy little ears, there was an uprising. He's the reason we've been able to start the cargo hauling business and why we always have a safe port to go to if there's any need. Not too many people want to mess with the Hynerian Navy."  
"I can imagine," said Berret. " But since when did Rygel become so generous?"  
Laughing she said, "Oh, he still whines and complains to anyone who will listen about how badly we treated him when he was aboard Moya, but the little toad still misses us, even if he won't admit it. He's even named several of his recent prodigy after us, and he absolutely dolts on the children when we're in port."  
"That... I cannot imagine," stated the Shrike.  
"Oh, it's true... and stranger yet, the kids adore him," was her reply  
"You're lying!" he said in disbelieve.  
"Not!" she said smiling while sprouting off the Crichton-ism.  
  
That night Berret slept beside his wife for the first time that he could remember. True to form, Chiana rolled over and dug her elbows into his side in her slumbering search for warmth. Wincing at the poking, he eventually managed to roll the small woman over so her back faced him. Immediately she squirmed herself back until her spine was pressed against his chest. She sighed in her sleep as he tucked a blanket around her tiny form and wrapped his arms around her. This was much more comfortable then the elbow thing he thought to himself. He looked down at her, this much more mature form of Chiana. At the same time he was happy and sad. He was happy she'd chosen to be with him, happy that he was there with her now, and happy about the children. At the same time he was sad about the missing time. Not remembering their bonding or the birth of their children, the cycles of them growing up, or all the time between with Chiana. He'd hoped it wouldn't remain lost to him forever. Sighing to himself, he buried his face in her sweet smelling hair and drifted off to sleep. 


	3. Chapter 2

Berret woke up in their bed alone the next morning. Chiana had forced him to eat a vast quantity of food the day before and the microbes seemed to have done their job of repairing more of the damage to his body.  
He sat up and found he was only a little dizzy. Waiting for the spell to pass, he looked about the bedroom and for the first time realized he really didn't recall ever seeing a room like it aboard Moya. After a few microns he was able to get to his shaky feet and make it to the lavatory. He cleaned himself up and found the longer he remained upright the easier it became for him. He went back into the bedroom and found his clothes in a storage chest and dressed. He couldn't find his boots anywhere about the room so he went to the door and walked out into the corridor.  
  
He thought it should have been Moya's corridor, but was very surprised to find himself in another larger room. He looked about himself in amazement. The room had big comfortable looking chairs, tables, and a couch placed about at various places. There was a thick carpet covering the floor that felt very good to his sock covered feet. There were a number of doorways that opened off this room; some of them shut off by closed doors and others just opened archways without them. There were numerous pictures on the wall and his attention was on going one to another when he stepped on something sharp and hard.   
"Ow!" he cried out more surprised then hurt, but he still danced around on one foot until he collapsed into one of the big nearby chairs. He reached down to the object he'd stepped on and as he picked it up he saw that it was a miniature Prowler. The tiny ship was extremely detailed he'd noticed.  
He was trying to figure out where it might have come from when Chiana, hearing the noise, stuck her head into the room from what turned out to be a small kitchen.   
"Oh, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?" she asked as she came into the room.  
She noticed him studying the small Prowler and asked, "What have you got there?"   
He held the miniature up for her to see better. "That Jalen," she said in annoyance, "I've told him a hundred times to pick up his toys after he's done playing with them."   
Berret continued to study the toy. "Where did he get it?" he asked idly  
"D'argo made it," Chiana answered, coming over to sit by him.   
"D'argo makes toys now?" he asked.  
"Well, it's a hobby for him. He started to make them when Jothee got here, and just kept making them for the other kids as they came along," Chiana explained with a smile.   
Dumbfounded, he almost forgot to ask, "What or where is this place?" pointing to the room around them.  
  
"Oh," said the Nebari woman, "we're on tier five. After Aeryn became pregnant, Pilot had the DRD's tear out all the cells on this level and construct living quarters suitable for families. We all have apartments now, which is a nice step up from living in a converted cell."  
"I'll have to go to the den and visit Pilot today," Berret said, being reminded of the multi-armed being.  
"He commed twice yesterday, but you were sleeping both times and he didn't want to disturb your rest.  
He'll be happy if you go visited him," Chiana said.  
"I will as soon as I find my boots," he said remembering the missing footwear.  
"I put them in the 'safe room' so they'd be out of the way," explained his wife.   
"Safe room?" ask the Shrike confused now.  
"Come on, I'll show you."  
She grabbed his hand and led him to the door next to their bedroom. She keyed the lock saying,   
"We thought it'd be best if certain things were kept out of reach of the children," she explained.  
"I can see what you mean," he admitted as he looked around the room. The walls were covered with all types of weapons and equipment. Some he surprised himself by recognizing as equipment coming from the Wraith when he first came aboard.  
  
He walked around the room taking down items, examining them, and then hanging them back in their place. Scattered here and there about the room were heavy clothing and other wear. He found a well-used pair of boots by the doorway and put them on. A closet caught his attention and he wandered over to it. Chiana quietly watched him, making no comments as he explored the room. Opening the door he found something he totally forgotten about... his Shrike ballistic-suit, armor, and the gauntlets. He picked up one of the arm pieces; it's deadly blades still hidden inside it. Chiana came silently up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him as he examined the contents of the closet.  
"You haven't worn that since sometime around when Jalen was born," she said. "There hasn't been any need too."  
She put out one of her hands and stroked the Acquarian Silk cloak that was hanging from a hook on the closet door. "Do you remember all the times we spent wrapped up in this?" she asked teasingly.  
He found himself smiling at what she was slyly implying. He pulled her around to face him and immediately became lost in her dark eyes.   
"I'm not sure," he said. "Why don't you refresh my memory."   
He brought his lips down to meet hers for a long kiss.   
"Be careful," she murmured against his chest when the kiss was over, "that's how we got Chulee."  
  
Once he got outside the new apartment additions, the rest of Moya was laid out as he remembered. He rounded a corner and almost ran into Malika, who was carrying a tray of potted plants. To his surprise the woman greeted him in a friendly matter.   
"Good morning, Jared. How are you?" she asked... and smiled pleasantly at him.  
Berret stood stunned, but the Delvian was too busy fiddling with her plants to notice.   
"I'm sorry neither Andar or I could make it to see you yesterday. We've had to hurry to prepare these 'Terza roots' for delivery today, and you know how much care they need to survive being transported." Berret had no idea what she was talking about but nodded his head anyway; here was something else he'd forgotten. Berret was at first surprised that the woman had also shaved her head like Zhaan, and then he remembered John telling him that Malika had just achieved the Third level of the Delvian Seek. Here was a change from the young woman who went out of her way to avoid him when they first came aboard Moya he thought. She smiled again and promised that she and Andar would visit once they returned from their trip. As she walked away in a swirl of robes she called over her shoulder,  
"Oh, if you're looking for the children, they are playing in Pilot's Den."  
  
The Den door cycled open and Berret was immediately assaulted by the sounds of screaming children. The four children were running every which way apparently playing a game of tag. For all the shrieking and giggling going on, Pilot seem to be enjoying it... a look of pleasure on his face. He'd even closed the huge vents that the allowed you to peer into the massive depths of Moya from the gangways leading to his station, allowing the kids to run free. Chulee saw him first as he stepped inside.   
"Daddy!" she yelled in joy and dropped her Chiana doll as she ran to meet him. To Berret's surprise the little girl bounced into the air and flew an amazing distance to land in his arms.   
"I can see where you take after your mother," he said as the child rubbed her cheek against his. Berret had not bothered to shave that morning and Chulee pulled her face away, frowning in disapproval. Her small hand came up and rubbed at the offending stubble on his cheek.   
"Daddy, I don't like that," she said in a serious tone.  
"I'm sorry, Chulee. I'll try and remember that next time," he promised.  
Up close, he could see that the child's complexion was somewhere between his and Chiana's. Grayer then his human skin but not as pale as Chiana's Nebari gray.  
He shifted his daughter so she rode on his hip like he'd seen Chiana do. She brightened, forgiving his transgression of not shaving that morning.   
"Guess what we're playing, Daddy," she said as he continued to approach Pilot, but going on in a rush before he could guess. "We're playin' 'Resistance Fighters'... Andrea and Missy are Peacekeepers, and me and Jalen are Nebari Freedom Fighters."  
"That's nice, Love," he answered as he came to a stop in front of Pilot, watching his son swoop in making pulse gun sounds and tapping Missy on the back as she ran from him. He then spun around and ran off back in the opposite direction with Missy now close behind him in pursuit firing her own imaginary pulse guns. "But I don't think you should all be in here disturbing Pilot," he continued.  
"That is quite all right, Jared," said Pilot with a big smile. "Moya and I enjoy having the children's company."  
"Moya knows the children are here?" he asked, not having considered the Leviathan would be aware of their presence in the Den.  
"Yes, the sounds of them playing is like music, relaxing to us both, they will always be welcomed in the Den," he explained.  
"Well, as long as it's alright with you and Moya..." he began  
"Jared," Pilot stopped him, smiling and caressing Chulee's hair with one large clawed hand, "Such are the joys of life."   
Berret nodded, looking into his daughter's big expressive eyes and having to agree with Pilot's wisdom. He should have known that rambunctious playing children wouldn't disturb a being capable of performing the multi-tasking operations of piloting a Leviathan in the slightest.   
"Now, tell us how you are feeling, Moya and I both are anxious to know if you're well again," asked Pilot.  
Berret and Pilot conversed for a short time. Berret assured him and Moya that he was feeling better while Pilot relayed Moya's questions. The Shrike remembered something and wasn't sure if he should asked, but decided to anyway.   
"Pilot, forgive me for not remembering, but whatever happened to Talyn and Crais?"  
Pilot looked sad for a microt. "There is no need to apologize, Jared. The last news we had, Talyn and his Captain are fighting the Scarrens alongside the Peacekeepers."   
"Why?" asked Berret. "I thought the Peacekeepers had disowned Crais."  
"Perhaps 'alongside' was not the best word to use. Talyn and Crais fight the Scarrens just as the Peacekeepers do, is more accurate," said Pilot.  
"I'm not sure I understand?" admitted Berret.  
"I will explain it more clearly," said Pilot.  
Chulee had become bored with the grownup talk and decided that the 'Resistance' needed her help more then her father needed her company. Climbing down from his hip, she paused only long enough to rescue her Nebari doll and headed over to where her brother was fighting a desperate battle outnumbered two to one. Berret watched her go and felt his heart warm. Chiana was right; these are happy times he thought.  
Looking back at Pilot, he waited for his explanation.   
"The last time we met up with Talyn and Crais, it was clear they wanted to take part in the fighting," Pilot went on to say. "Moya tried to talk Talyn out of joining the conflict but his reasons for doing so were too sound."  
"What reason could he possible have for fighting on the side of the Peacekeepers?" Berret asked in wonder.  
"Rule under the Peacekeepers was bad enough, but tolerable. If the Scarrens come into power, life as we know it in the Charted Territories will cease," explained Pilot.  
"I see... the lesser of two evils. I know the cruelty of the Scarrens well," said Berret, rubbing the old collar scars on his neck.  
"Exactly!" said Pilot. "The Peacekeepers would never let Crais return, and if they did... would never let him continue as Talyn's captain. So they hit the Scarrens where they could and attempt to stay clear of the Peacekeepers at the same time."  
"A difficult existence," commented Berret.  
"Yes, but one they are well adapted at now. Talyn has grown to almost full Leviathan size. I dare say that a single command carrier would be of little threat to him now."  
"That is good to hear. I truly wish them the best of luck. It is an honorable endeavor."  
"So do we, Jared. So do we," Pilot said.  
  
The day had been spent visiting the others in the group. At the evening meal Malika and Andar managed to join them. Berret couldn't get over the change in the Delvian woman from what he remembered. Andar himself had changed as well. The young Sebacean man's frame had filled out with more muscle and he'd grown more sure of himself compared to the young student-teacher who had led a sheltered life on the secluded Sebacean colony. The two talked very excitedly about their new projects over dinner and it seemed to Berret that the two might have been very taken with each other, though he thought it best he keep the observation to himself in case he was mistaken or at least until he was able to remember if the pair were a couple or not. He thought it best to avoid an awkward comment if possible.  
That night he laid in bed with Chiana, who had her head lying on his shoulder while her finger idly traced a pattern over and over again on his chest. After a few microns he realized the pattern was actually a Nebari script that meant 'endearment'.  
"What are you thinking about?" his wife asked sleepily.  
"You," was all he said, a warm smile finding it's way onto his face.   
"What about me?" Chiana said becoming slightly more alert with interest.  
The smile growing bigger, he said, "It has occurred to me, that your speech patterns have changed a great deal over time?"  
"What do you mean?" she asked bewildered at the odd comment.  
"They contain... shall we say, less of the past colorful expressions than I remember," his grin widened.  
Chiana looked at him as if he'd just said the dumbest thing she'd ever heard.   
"Well, we do have children now... you know?" She frowned at him because he should have known better.  
"Oh?" he said, "I thought it might be because you were getting old or something of that nature."  
"Jared..." she said, and he raised an eyebrow to indicate he was listening. "Frell You!" she finished.  
Delighted he replied, "I thought you'd never ask." And then moved over so he could kiss her.  
  
After their interlude, Chiana laid with her head now on his chest. "Jared?" she murmured.  
"Humm?" was his sleepy response. She raised her head up to look at her husband's face.  
"Do you have any regrets?"  
He opened his eyes to look at her. "About what?" he questioned.  
"Any of this. I know John's talked to you... and you know about the wormhole in the Leviticus system. Do you regret that the two of you decided to stay with us instead of going home?" she asked, almost as if she were afraid to hear the answer.  
That afternoon John had found him in the gym, and he filled in his memory about Moya finding the stable wormhole that opened back to the sector of space where Earth was located and the short time they had spent there. He had asked Chiana to let him discuss the incident with Berret. Seeing both men made their choices together, he felt the information would be better coming from him. At the end, for different reasons at the time, neither one chose to leave Moya and the others. It seemed to Berret a good decision then as well as now.  
He pulled Chiana close to him. "As far as I'm concerned... my life began the moment you found me in that alley on that backwater planet. My past on Earth is someone else's life. I could no more fit in there then I would... say in Rygel's harem."  
The statement brought a laugh to the Nebari's lips. "I can just picture that!" she giggled.  
He chuckled along with her. "With you, Jalen, and Chulee... I'm the happiest I can ever be or have hoped for." He traced the line of her cheek with a forefinger. "It would be a better question to ask if you have any regrets?"   
"Well, there was the time you replaced my food cube stash with soap cubes," she said thoughtfully, "But... I got over it."  
"I'm glad to hear it... but you did deserve it if I recall rightly," he stated, thinking of all the pranks she'd pulled on him over time.   
She burst out laughing again, "Yeah, I guess I did." She snuggled close to him. "I'm glad neither of us have regrets" she murmured. She was quiet for a few microts, and then poked him in the side.   
"Tell me you love me," she demanded in a whisper.   
"I... love... you," he whispered in her ear, and then nipped it for good measure, making her squeal and giggle louder.  
"Quiet! The kids!" Chiana admonished, even though it was she making the noise.  
  
The next morning Berret walked into command to find Jothee on duty as always. Jalen was with the young warrior. The half Nebari boy looked up to D'argo's son and often spent time with him assisting on the command tier or running errands for Jothee.   
"Good morning, Uncle," called Jothee cheerily, then he turned to Jalen and handed him a record list with instructions to deliver it to Zhaan right away.  
"Hi, Dad!" the boy called as he passed by his father. Berret ruffled his son's hair as he darted by and out the door... and almost bowled over Crichton in the process. John was spared the collision by Jalen's Nebari reflexes as the boy bounced out of the man's way and continued on his mission while tossing a, "Sorry, Uncle John!" over his shoulder.  
"Whoa!" said John at the near collision, "I bet that kid can play some killer hoops."  
Not understanding, Berret said absently, "No. I rather he not kill anything, John."  
"That's not what I meant..." started the human then decided there wasn't a point in explaining right at that moment. "Never mind," he said waving it off. "What's goin' on, guys?"  
"Malika and Andar are on their way back to Moya. Their trade this morning went very well," Jothee reported. "And they report that their new transport system for Terza Roots is a success. They only lost 5% of the cargo instead of the usual 26%."  
"That's great!" said John genuinely pleased at the news. "When are they due back?"  
"They should reach Moya within the arn, Uncle John," Jothee said after checking the updated sensor logs.  
"Then I guess as soon as they dock, we can starburst home. We need some down time and a vacation sounds good about now... especially after all the dren that happened on this run," said Crichton referring to the Shrike's injury.  
Berret was confused at John's statement, "Home?" he asked and looked around at Moya. He'd thought Moya was their home. Jothee and John looked at Berret, not comprehending what had confused the Shrike.  
Then Crichton realized why he was looking around at the deck and walls of the Leviathan.  
"Ah! Well, yeah... Moya is our first home, but she needs a homeport. Someplace where she can rest safely," John explained.  
"And where is 'homeport'?" asked Berret.  
"Hyneria.... we're going home to visit Papa Sparky," Crichton said with a wide grin. 


	4. Chapter 3

The solar day and a half trip to Hyneria was uneventful, except for the children becoming excited to be going to see "Papa Rygel". Berret still couldn't fathom a guess as to why the kids loved the stuffy and annoying Hynerian ruler so much. During the voyage, Berret made it down to the hanger tier and inspected the Wraith. The craft was more battle scarred and patched then he remembered, but Aeryn assured him it was in fighting trim. The stealth system was a little outdated, but Rygel had promised an up-grade for it the next time they were in port. Something he didn't remember was the addition of a third Prowler, which the ex-Peacekeeper said they'd managed to "borrow" about five cycles back. To his surprise, Crichton's FarScape Module was parked off in a storage bay. According to the dark haired Sebacean woman, the small craft just got old and it took too much time to keep repairing it. Berret knew that John loved the ship he had designed, and it must have been hard for him to park it for good. It was very lucky they'd acquired the third Prowler to take up the slack.  
  
Jothee had signaled ahead of Moya to Hyneria space control of their impending arrival. The Leviathan was met at the boarder of Hynerian space by the "RHN Dominar's Sword", a full size battleship of the Hynerian Navy as an escort to the homeworld. Berret privately thought the battleship's name was some attempt at sexual humor by Rygel, but keep his opinion to himself and did not ask the ship's captain about it when the Hynerian commander commed them to welcome them home. Moya was escorted to a choice orbit above Hyneria where she could always be in the system's sunlight if she wished. Port-service ships immediately descended on Moya and began to clean her hull and take care of her other needs. Berret swore he could hear the ship sigh from the attention. The crew bid farewell to Pilot, packed their gear, and after rounding up all the children, crammed into a Transport Pod and headed for the surface. Planet Control guided them into the Palace air space. As they approached Berret could not believe how immense Rygel's home was. It was easily twice the size of Moya. A force shield blanketed the Palace and a section of it blinked off, allowing the shuttle to land at the private landing pad.  
  
As the crew disembarked, humanoid servants rushed over to take their luggage. John started to lead the group toward a wing of the Palace some distance away. Missy, not wanting to walk that far, conned her father into picking her up and carrying her. Chulee seeing her friend get special treatment decided that she was in need of the same care and badgered her father until Berret picked her up and slung her on his back.  
Chiana at his side, seeing the little girl had her father wrapped around her finger... chuckled and said,  
"What about me? I'm too tired to walk too!"  
"Be quiet!" said Berret, mockingly scolding her. "You don't see Aeryn whining to John and wanting to be carried, do you?"   
Chiana playfully stuck her tongue out at her husband in reply.  
"Yeah, Mom! Stop being a baby," piped up Jalen.   
Chiana gave him a playful scowl and lightly swatted at her son. The nimble Boy dodged the fake blow and ran ahead laughing, only to be scooped up by D'argo and tossed over his massive shoulder. Much to Zhaan's amusement, the boy shrieked in mock terror as the Luxan poked and tickled him before setting him back on his feet again. Chiana put her arm around Berret's waist as they continued the walk.   
"You'd think they'd have some sort of transportation here," she looked around and commented. "For somebody who moves around on a floating chair, Old Froggy sure loves to make other people walk."  
"That certainly sounds like Rygel's sense of humor to me," agreed Berret.  
Looking about him, Berret saw many Hynerians. It seemed strange to see them walking, having hardy ever seen Rygel do so. The crew reached the end of the landing pad and headed through a gate that led into the Palace ground gardens. Malika and Andar strolled along behind Chiana, Chulee, and Berret arm in arm, the young Delvian Priestess pointing out exotic plants to the Sebacean man. Missy jumped down from John's arms as soon as they entered the lush garden and ran ahead to join her sister and Jalen in exploring the grounds, allowing John and Aeryn to continue the trip holding hands. Berret asked Chulee if she wanted to join her brother and friends, but the girl seemed uninterested in leaving her perch on his back. Chiana snickered at her husband's obvious ploy to rid himself of his young burden.   
"That's my girl," she said to her daughter. "You're 'no' dimbulb, are you?"   
The girl solemnly nodded her head in the negative and then burst into giggles along with her mother.   
Berret joined them and then transferred his young passenger up to his shoulders.  
  
They finally reached the Palace itself and where immediately ushered into Rygel's private rooms were the Hynerian Dominar was waiting for their arrival. His thronesled sped forward as they entered through two huge gold covered doorways.  
"Welcome!" he cried, "Welcome home, my friends."  
Upon seeing the Hynerian, the children dashed to meet him shouting, "Papa Rygel!" as they went.  
Rygel stop to meet them and floated above the group as they clamored for his attention.   
"Well, if it isn't my favorite mob of young subjects!" the ruler chuckled. "Tell me... what treasures from your adventures have you brought your Dominar this time?" he asked.   
Each child hurriedly dug into the small packs they carried and carefully unfolded sheets of paper, holding them up so he could see the drawings on each. "My! You've brought me fine works of art!" He exclaimed.  
"These are too valuable to leave laying around. I'll have to put them with the others," he said and then floated over to a curtain-covered wall with the children right behind him. Touching a control on his throne, the curtain slid aside to reveal a wall covered with childish drawings.  
Berret looked over at John. "I believe I injured my head far worse then first thought... this can't be for real?" he whispered to the other man as they watched Rygel make a big production of hanging each picture.  
"Oh, it is, J.B." Crichton whispered back. "The kids get a kick out of the attention. Watch what happens next."  
A few microns later with the last drawing hung in place, Rygel said to the young group before him,  
"Hummm, now what reward shall I bestow upon these intrepid young adventurers who braved the dangers of space to bring me such rare art?"  
The children danced from leg to leg as Rygel feigned being at a loss to think of a reward, then as if it came to him in a flash, "I know!" he said with a snap of his stubby fingers.  
He made a show of grandly pushing a button on the arm of his thronesled and a few microts later two servants appeared with trays loaded with sweets. The children cheered as they swarmed the trays before the over-burdened servants could set them down. Rygel tittered with glee as he beamed at Moya's children.   
"Oh Goddess," murmured Berret to Chiana, "the kids will weight 400 sakmar by the time we leave here."  
  
At door at the far end of the chamber slammed open and a horde of miniature Rygels swarmed in. The children seeing the noisy mob, cried out in joy as the stampede of small Hynerians did the same. Rygel's latest progeny had arrived. The adults couldn't hear or speak over the clamor of the youngsters all talking at the same time trying to catch up since they last saw each other. Rygel called a servant and had the poor man usher the entire troop off to one of the playrooms, along with the trays of sweets.  
Stunned Berret whispered to Chiana, "How many are there?"  
"Thirty-two in this last batch," she whispered back to him.  
"Seemed like more," was all he could say.  
After the children had left, Rygel turned again to his friends. "This last half cycle has seemed like ages. Tell me, how are you all?" he asked them.  
"Well... we would have been here sooner," drawled Aeryn, "If we didn't have to walk so frelling far from the landing area."  
Rygel put a dismayed look on his face. "Didn't you enjoy the walk through the garden?" he asked. "Most people after being cooped up on board ship for half cycles at a time would enjoy a stroll through nature," he said, conveniently forgetting that their trading trips offer them enough time planet side.  
"I knew it!" John guffawed. "He's just too cheap to invest in ground transportation."  
  
They talked for a while until Rygel had to leave to handle business running the Hynerian Empire. He told them he'd ordered their apartments reopened when he received word of their returning to port. Rygel then summoned another servant to escort them through the huge palace to their quarters. As John passed the man who was holding open the door he asked,  
"Did they reopen the swimming pool? I want to teach the kids how to swim this visit."  
"Yes, Ambassador Crichton. All has been prepared for your arrival," the man said as he bowed to John.  
"Ambassador?" asked Berret, turning to his wife. Chiana laughed at the perplexed look on his face.  
"Yes, Rygel gave us all "Titles" for helping restore him to the Hynerian throne. John is the Official Hynerian Ambassador to Earth, not that anybody here talks to anybody there yet. D'argo and Jothee are Honorary Generals in the Hynerian Ground Forces, which is kinda funny if you can imagine Luxans leading a charge of Hynerian troops in battle... they'd have to walk slow while the troops run to catch up."  
She held a finger up to her chin as she tried to remember the other's titles.   
"Aeryn is a Hynerian Air Commander. Zhaan and Malika have their own Delvian temple somewhere in the city, complete with bald monks and everything. Andar is a professor at the Hynerian School of Higher Learning. Oh! This is the best; I'm the Chairperson for the Hynerian Correctional System. Isn't that a scream?" she asked.  
"That... is the most bizarre thing I have heard yet today," admitted the Shrike. After a microts thought he asked, "And who am I suppose to be?"   
He was almost afraid to hear the answer. The smile on Chiana face told him that this is the part she'd been waiting for and that he'd walked right into it.  
"Oh," she said innocently, "You're the Royal Assassin."  
"Oh," he repeated, "Of course... how silly of me."  
  
The servant lead them to their wing of the palace, assuring them that their children would be returned to them after they'd had a chance to visit and the adults had an opportunity to settle in. Their apartments were all on the same floor. Knowing the way, Malika and Andar excused themselves to walk in another garden nearby. Zhaan smiled at D'argo as the young couple departed to spend sometime alone together. In the hallway a young Sebacean maid happily greeted Jothee. Jothee, with a big smile on his face, returned her greeting and stop to talk with her, leaving his father and the others to continue on. D'argo looked back at his son chatting with the young woman and looked as if he was about to say something when Zhaan pulled him into their apartment before he could. With a backward wave at their companions, the Pa'u closed the door behind her.  
Berret cracked a smile at the look on D'argo's face as Zhaan rushed him inside and out of his son's hair.  
Chiana saw the grin and elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't laugh! That'll be you in a few cycles," she scolded.  
"Don't sweat it, J.B." called John, "But it'll be worse with girls," he warned as he opened his and Aeryn's door.  
"Which, Mr. Crichton, I remind you... you have two of!" said Aeryn as she pushed passed him.  
"Oh yeah," said John as if the thought had only just occurred to him. He waved to the rest of them as he stepped inside.  
Chiana led him to their door and opened it. The apartments inside were luxurious; Rygel had gone all out for his shipmates. The furniture looked comfortable and expensive. The big main room had a large sofa and several big chairs with tables and a large Vid-viewer. The thick carpet under his boots was as white as Chiana's hair. Walking around he saw that each child had his or her own bedroom and the master bedroom was easily twice the size of their one on Moya. He returned to the main room to continue his exploration of the apartment. He was looking over some of the pictures and nick-knacks about the room, obviously personal items selected by himself and his family for their second home here on Hyneria. It was a strange twist of luck to go from having no home to having two and a family in just ten cycles he thought to himself. There was a soft noise behind him and a bare foot swept his feet out from under him. The thick carpet acted like a training mat and cushioned his fall as he landed flat on his back. In the blink of an eye, Chiana was sitting on his chest pinning him to the floor.  
"You're getting old... to let somebody sneak up on you like that," she purred to him.  
Leaning over him, her long white hair cascaded down framing her lovely face. Her full black lips in a sly smile, she leaned closer and brushed them against his. She pulled back saying suggestively,  
"We have the place to ourselves for awhile before the kids get back."  
He started up at her, finding himself lost again in those sparkling dark eyes. He remembered hearing people say that Nebari eyes where as cold as looking into the depths of space. They wouldn't say that if they could look into the Pixie's eyes and see what he saw, he thought to himself. He reached a hand up and rubbed her cheek. Chiana closed her eyes in pleasure at his touch and rubbed her cheek back against his hand. He wondered why it had ever taken him so long to realize he'd loved the small Nebari woman almost from the first day they met. Her dark eyes drifted lazily opened again.   
"Well?" Chiana asked, "Aren't you going to say anything?"   
"Yes," he said in a low voice as he pulled her back down to him.   
"I surrender," he got out just before their lips met again in another kiss.  
  
The floor below their apartments contained a common area that opened onto the wing's private gardens, along with a workout gym and John's swimming pool. That night Rygel joined his friends, his duties as Dominar discharged for the day; he was free to sit and socialize with his old crewmates. The Hynerian learned long ago that he couldn't keep servants around for these informal get-togethers. The cavalier way his friends treated and teased the Dominar, especially Chiana, just about scandalized the entire staff. Privately, he much more preferred the quiet time alone with them, reliving old times and catching up on new ones. The children had been tucked away for the night leaving the adults free to chat. Berret nursed a mug of Fellip Nectar while Chiana sipped at a cup of Raslek, a drink Berret could not stand the smell of much less the taste, though his wife like it well enough.  
"So tell me, Chiana," said Rygel. "Are you still happy with tall, pink, and gloomy there?" His wispy eyebrow rose as he gave the Shrike the good-natured barb and waited for his reaction. "You know there's still time to make you my fifty-seventh main wife if you're tired of him."  
Chiana gave him a sly wicked grin and her unique evil chuckle, "No way, Froggy. This girl has to at least be in the top ten or no deal."  
"That's our Chiana," said Aeryn, holding her glass up in a toast. "As mercenary as ever."  
"And we wouldn't have her any other way," seconded John.  
"Neither would she!" said D'argo and Berret almost at the same time. The pair stopped and looked at each other before both busted out laughing. The others joined in and Chiana turned to swat her husband soundly.  
"Hey! I thought you were suppose to defend me?" she asked as she broke into her own mirth.  
"He thought he was!" put in D'argo, sending the group into more fits.  
Rygel bushed aside a tear from his eye as the laughter died. "So they tell me you're having problems with your memory again, Shrike," he said. "A nasty bump on the head I take it? You're not going to go farhbots again anytime soon, are you?"   
Knowing that was Rygel's gruff way of asking about his injury and if he was well, Berret didn't take offense. He took a sip of his drink before replying.   
"Yes, I had an accident and I lost part of my memory, but it's nothing like with the collar. I'm able to recall an event if someone starts to tell me about it. However, if you wish me to go farhbots again.... just keep telling those awful jokes of yours. That should more than do it," said the Shrike with a big smile.   
Rygel made a show of being wounded.  
"Well," he said after a microt, "at least they're not as bad as Crichton's jokes!"  
John had been sitting back enjoying his drink and quietly listening to the conversation when he realized Rygel had given him a shot.   
"Hey!" he said looking about at the others offended, which sent the rest of the group into another fit of laughter. The crew of Moya sat about laughing and chatting till the late hours; all in all, it was a good time with old and dear friends.  
  
Berret arose early with the children the next morning. Excited to be back on Hynerian, they were ready to have their first swimming lesson with their Uncle John. Chiana was still asleep in their room in her usual buried totally under the bed covers position. He knew his wife was not an early raiser if she could help it. With more of his memories returning, he shook his head as he realized that in the entire time he'd known her... he had almost never seen her sleep with her head above the covers when she was by herself. She would mostly sleep that way when he was in bed with her, put as soon as he left her head disappeared under the mound of blankets. He chucked to himself at the odd behavior thinking it probably was a hold over habit from her days of always running and hiding when she was younger. Be that as it may, it was one of the quarks he loved about her... even if it got confusing at times when he would be talking to the lump under the blanket and the end he believed was her head turned out to be her feet or some other part of her body that did not have ears. He changed into his workout clothes and gathered his offspring up before leaving his bond-mate under her Hynerian Quilt fortress then headed to the next level down to meet John.  
  
On the common level, the sound of splashing water from the pool competed with the sound of cracking Tripolyium practice swords coming from the gym where D'argo and his son practiced. As they entered the pool area, John and the girls greeted them.  
"Mornin' J.B., 'Len, 'Lee... ready for your first ever swimming lesson?" John asked cheerily.  
"Yeah, Uncle John!" both Chulee and Jalen shouted as they threw down their towels and immediately jumped into the shallow end with Missy and Andrea, splashing both adults in their enthusiasm.   
John laughed and said to Berret, "Well, they certainly aren't afraid of the water. I had to coax Andrea for over half an arn her first time in."  
"Yes, they get that from their mother," Berret answered thoughtfully.  
"Yeah," agreed Crichton. "Old Pip sometimes rushed in where angels fear to thread... then again, there were other times she was the first to run away."  
"I never said she was stupid," was all Berret said with a cheery smile and John nodded his agreement.  
"Are you sure you'll be able to watch all four?" Berret asked Crichton with some doubt after watching the children take turns dunking each other under water.  
"I'll be fine. They're not going anywhere near the deep end. Are you sure you don't want to join us?" he asked.  
"I've made plans with D'argo to train this morning... and you know how Aeryn is about everyone keeping to their training schedule," answered the Shrike.  
"Tell me about it!" said John remembering how his wife could still run him into the ground while they sparred.  
"See ya later then, Jared," Crichton said and then called the children over to him to began their lesson.  
  
D'argo and Jothee where just completing a sword kata as Berret entered the gym. He noticed the young Sebacean maid from the day before sitting off to one side watching fascinated as the pair worked. It was obvious that the woman adored the young warrior. Both warriors finished the kata together and returned their practice Qualta blades to their sides in the ready position. D'argo noticed Berret's arrival and nodded to the Shrike as he began his warm ups. The Luxan went on to explain to his son some finer details to their kata techniques, his voice sounding almost like a drill instructor. Berret stretched out and then went through some tumbling and rolling exercises, hitting the ground and rolling back onto his feet again ready to fight. He went to the weapons rack and picked up his practice sword. Unlike the Qualta blades this one was based on one of the weapons found in his personal belongings onboard the Wraith. It was thinner then the Qualta and had only a single edge. The real weapon itself had a handle long enough to use two hands on, but was very light compared to D'argo or Jothee's Qualta Blades, but then again it didn't have to turn into a rifle. John had said the sword resembled a weapon on Earth know as a 'Katana'. Berret strapped the scabbard into his belt at his left side. This weapon was worn mostly edge up and high on the hip. He practiced slowly drawing the sword and making cuts in the air before returning it to the scabbard and starting again. Each time the draw and cuts coming faster until the fake blade was a blur in the air.  
D'argo worked Jothee for a tenth of an arn more then took pity on his student as it became more apparent that his attention was more on the young lady rather then his lesson. He dismissed his son and walked over to where Berret was completing his own sword kata. The Luxan watched Jothee depart with his new flame, to which the older warrior shook his head and sighed. Berret asked after the couple departed,   
"Isn't it rather strange for a Sebacean to be romancing another species?"   
To which D'argo gruffly replied, "She's a refugee from a back-world Sebacean colony. Much like Andar was. The Scarrens came in and destroyed everything. Most of those who managed to escape found their way here or were picked up by Hynerian boarder patrols."   
D'argo finished talking with a look of deep thought on his face.   
"You do not approve of the relationship?" ventured the Shrike. The Luxan looked startled for a microt.   
"What? Oh no, that's not it at all. Tamilla is a very fine young woman... even if she does work for Rygel," he added as a joke. "It's just that...." he started but was unable to put his thought into words.   
Berret thought he knew what the Luxan was thinking but could not express, so he took a stab at it.  
"She reminds you too much of the boy's mother. Seeing them together is bringing back old memories."  
D'argo waved the statement off as if to admit to feeling melancholy was to admit to having a weakness.  
"Bah! What do you know, Shrike," D'argo said trying to get off the subject.   
"On the contrary, Luxan. I know a great deal about old memories," said Berret, teasing his old enemy turned ally. D'argo growled at the jab and snarled mockingly at the ex-assassin.   
"Are you going to spar with that sword or stand there and strike pretty poses all solar day?"  
"As you wish, General," Berret said as the practice sword left it scabbard in the blink of an eye.  
Several blows were struck at the huge Luxan in the next eye blink, all of which he parried expertly.  
"Hah! You call that fighting, Assassin?" D'argo taunted and returned several powerful strokes of his own. Now the big warrior was truly happy, content with the fake battle rather then about thinking of the past. 


	5. Chapter 4

Two arns later Berret returned to his apartments alone, the children having decided to have a late breakfast with Missy and Andrea after their morning swimming lesson. He moved through the silent apartment to Chiana and his bedroom. There was still a lump under the blankets that he assumed was his still sleeping wife. He stripped off his sweaty shirt and dumped it into a basket to be cleaned and then headed into their lavatory for a quick shower. He was well into his shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water soaking away his aches from the beating D'argo had just given him in the gym. He idly thought that next time he chose to tease the Luxan he'd make sure they weren't just about to spar with practice swords again. The swords, while not being able to cut, could deliver quite a stunning blow. He sighed again to himself as the hot water sprayed across a particularly sore spot when the shower curtains suddenly ripped aside and a pale gray figure leaped in at him making downward overhead stabbing motions while emitting an eerie cry.  
"Wheeee! Wheeeee! Wheeeeee!" the figure went with each downward stab.  
"AHHHHGGGGHHHH!" Berret screamed in surprise and backpedaled until his back hit the wall of the shower stall. As he hit the tiled surface his feet shot out from under him and he slid down the wall in slow motion, his bare back making a squeaking noise all the way down, until he hit the shower floor with a soft thump.  
The shock wore off as he sat on the floor with the water still spraying down on the top of his head. He then realized the gray figure was actually a nude Chiana who was staring down at him in stunned amazement. As soon as she seen that he hadn't obviously hurt himself, she burst out into a rolling fit of laughter.  
"I have asked you, repeatedly... not to do that!" Berret said as he attempted to regain some of his dignity.  
A new round of laughter from the Nebari rewarded his effort.   
"It's not my fault you're afraid of the 'Normanbates'! She stammered out, while walking the rest of the way into the stall and under the spray of water.  
"I am not afraid of the Norman Bates," he corrected as she helped him to his feet again.  
Cycles ago when he first arrived aboard Moya, he'd had to use the common shower area because the showers on his quarter's tier were being repaired by DRD's. While he was showering, Zhaan being Zhaan, had walked in to join him and startled him in much the same way. Not understanding why being surprised in the shower should produce such a reaction in humans and Zhaan remembering Crichton reacting the same way in similar shower incident, they asked him. John told them of an old Earth myth about a man named Norman Bates who ran a type of inn on Earth. It seemed that Norman Bates had a habit of killing visitors to his inn while they were in the shower. John warned them that it was a classic legend and that it wasn't a good idea to startle Earth people in the shower because of it. By the smirk on John's face, Berret had the feeling he wasn't being totally honest about the tale, but he'd let it drop at the time. However since then, it had become one of Chiana's favorite pranks to pull on him whenever she could. He tried to communicate his displeasure non-verbally to his wife but that only seemed to amuse her all the more.  
"What's the matter? Are you gonna be mad at me all day now?" she asked pressing her wet body up against him, trying to weasel her way back into his good graces.   
"No," he answered, not buying her con for a microt. "I was just... thinking."  
"About what?" she purred, smiling up at him.   
"About how pitiful a wet Nebari looks," he answered.  
He chuckled as she rewarded him with a wet washcloth in the face.  
  
Chiana grasped Berret's hand as they entered the Trader Square outside the Palace gates.   
"Don't wander too far ahead," she told her children. Looking up at her husband she asked, "Are you still mad at me for the joke this morning?"  
"I've asked you before not to do that, and no, I'm not mad at you," he told her sullenly.  
"Good," said Chiana, just before he finished with,   
"I'm more 'annoyed' with you."  
"Well, hey! I can't help it if you fall for it every time," she said in her defense.  
"I don't 'fall for it' every time," he denied, "It's more like you ambush me with it every time."  
"Alright!" she gave in. "I'll try and resist doing it again."  
"Right, and I also believe Rygel will give up the throne to become a monk," Berret said looking sideways at his wife, but smiling.  
"Well, it could happen," she tried.  
They reached a section of the market where there were boot makers and Chiana told Berret that Jalen was in need of new footwear, having almost outgrown what he had. Berret told her he was going to look for a few things that John wanted to complete one of his many on-going projects aboard Moya and then agreed to meet his family back at that spot within three-quarters of an arn. Chiana gathered up their offspring and headed off to one of the storefronts. She noticed a clothing store nearby and made a mental note to stop in to look around before meeting her husband. She decided to get both children fitted for new boots, the process being long with two active urchins, and expensive. She sighed and wished for the days when she just would have snurched what she needed. She thought about seeing if she still had her skills but Berret would be none to happy with her if he found out she did, and certainly Rygel would have a grand time if she were caught and brought before him for stealing in his market. She tried to remember when life became so boring, then looked down at her two fidgeting children and remembered, "Life didn't get boring, it just changed for the better." The thought brought a smile to her face as she took out the credits to pay for her purchases.  
  
Outside the Boot maker's shop, the children pleaded with their mother to visit a nearby toy store. She still had more than a quarter arn before meeting Berret and told the children that they could see the toys after they went inside the clothing store next to the toyshop first. Half the store was opened to the market and Chiana wandered through the racks of clothing as the children waited patiently where she could see them in front of the toyshop. Chulee had her nose pressed up against the window and Jalen stood farther back so he could look at the toy models on a higher shelf in the display.   
A voice behind them asked, "My, where did you youngsters come from?"  
Jalen turned to see a man who looked as pale as his mother, but had the same jet-black hair he did. The man was dressed in a fancy suit and behind him stood another Nebari man in a uniform. The man started a little when he noticed Jalen's bright blue eyes. Chulee also turned to look at the man but finding nothing of interest, went back to inspecting the playthings behind the window.  
"I see," said the man, more to himself. "Where are your parents?" he asked.   
"My mother is over there shopping," said Jalen, pointing in Chiana's direction. "We're waiting for her to finish so we can go into the toy store."  
The man looked over to where the boy pointed and then could make out the white hair moving between the clothes racks.   
"Thank you, young man. You and your sister have a good time in the toy store."  
He turned to the uniformed Nebari and gave the man a meaningful look as they moved away from the children. "Obviously one that hasn't been recalled for Re-conditioning," he said as they walked away from the storefront. "The thought of a Nebari woman bearing offspring by another species.... makes me ill."  
  
The Nebari men headed straight for Chiana. Before they could corner her, she looked up to check the children and her blood froze as she saw them. She quickly turned away from their approach, telling herself not to panic. Pretending she hadn't seen them, she headed further back among the racks to draw them away from the children. Once the men were inside the store with racks of clothing still separating them, Chiana ducked under the closest one and crawled her way toward the outside, and her children. She rolled out from under the last row and jumped to her feet, frantically calling Jalen and Chulee to her. The men reversed their course when they realized her ploy and were heading back toward the family. The two children at first started to resist their mother dragging them from the promised visit to the toy shop, but fell silent as her panic at the two Nebari coming back over to them registered.   
"Hold on a micron," said the man in the fancy suit, attempting to sound non-threatening. "We just want to talk," he said to them. The man in the uniform at his side was speaking in a low voice into his comm badge. Chiana pushed her children behind her and began backing them away from the Nebari men.  
"Stay away from us!" she warned, wishing she'd brought a weapon. "You're not touching me or my children."  
  
"Relax, there's no need to be frightened," said the man who Chiana knew by his expensive dress and seal amulet was an Official of the Nebari government. The uniformed man was obviously his bodyguard.   
"We're here to help you. Don't you want to be a productive member of Nebari society again?" he asked.  
"I don't need a mind frelling! You can keep your mental cleansing!" Chiana screamed at him, herding Chulee and Jalen back further behind her. "Don't come any closer!" she demanded, then in panic she started calling, "Jared! Jared!" looking left and right for her husband, and then finally yelling, "BERRET!"  
Chulee began crying for her father and Jalen tried to step in front of his mother and sister to protect them, but was shoved back again by a frenzied Chiana.   
The Nebari Official gave up trying to reason with the woman.  
"This is getting us nowhere," he told his bodyguard, giving the Nebari woman a look of undisguised disgust. "Just go and take her and let's be done with it," he commanded his bodyguard. "I have a late lunch with the Ambassador after all,"   
"Yes, sir," said the military officer as he stepped forward preparing to take Chiana into custody.  
  
The Nebari soldier never made it to lay a hand on the frighten woman. Somebody behind him stomped viciously on the back of one of his knee, driving him to the ground. When he looked up to see who had attacked him, a boot sole smashed into his face knocking him out cold. Berret stepped over the unconscious man and grabbed the Nebari Official by the throat, lifting the man off the ground so he was unable to use those strong Nebari leg muscles to kick him. Berret felt several muscles in his arm tear from the strain and the warm feeling that indicated that the microbes where repairing the rips, but he was too angry to care. Berret looked over at his family to assure himself they were unharmed as he held the kicking man up. The Nebari grasped Berret's wrist with both his hands trying to take the weight of his body off his neck and to attempt to free himself from the man's iron hold.   
"Unhand me! Do you know who I am?" he croaked threatenly out though his half crushed throat.   
Berret brought his full attention back to the man in his grasp.   
"No," he said in a voice as cold as ice. "Do you know who I am?" he asked in return.   
The Official could only slightly shake his head in the negative and make a choking noise.  
"Good," said the Shrike with a wicked smile. "I'm going to tell you something very important. Your future continued existence depends on how well you listen. Nod if you understand me."  
The Nebari vigorously nodded his head as much as he was able while held in the constricting grip.  
"Good," said Berret again, obviously taking his time. "Now listen carefully. My wife, and my family.... are no concern of yours or your governments. If I see you or any of your people around them again... I will find you and kill you... and I will kill you in a excruciating slow and painful way."  
"And if he does not, I most certainly will," said a gruff voice from behind Berret. Turning, the Shrike saw D'argo standing there, meaningfully fingering the edge of his Qualta blade as two more unarmed Nebari soldiers ran up, but skidded to a halt at seeing the scowling Luxan. D'argo ignored the new men as if they were of no concern and continued, "That is... if you're not planning on snapping his neck anyway," he said to Berret.  
Berret turned back to consider the Official, but spoke to the warrior, "I have seriously considered it."   
Now speaking to the Nebari man again he said, "Nod again if what I've said... what we've said," he corrected, "... is clear to you."  
The man's face was beginning to turn dark blue from lack of oxygen but he managed to nod his head once again. Berret opened his hand and the man fell to the ground in a heap and then hurriedly scurried away from the furious Shrike. Wary of the Luxan, the two soldiers moved to help the gasping official to regain his feet. Berret turned back to Chiana, who immediately ran into his arms. The woman was trembling as he folded his arms around her and held her close. Berret had always known that the only thing his small wife was afraid of was being returned to her people and mind cleansed. Until now he never quite understood just how much she feared it. Chulee came with her crying to his side and he scooped the little girl up with his free arm.   
"Be glad you had not laid a hand on them," growled Berret to the Nebari Official.  
  
Looking for his son, he saw that Zhaan had accompanied D'argo and was holding the boy protectively in her arms. Nodding his thanks to the Delvian, he began to steer his family back toward the Palace grounds to get them away from the Nebari presence in the market. Trusting the huge Luxan to watch their backs and discourage anyone from following the group. Once back in their apartments at the Palace, a shaken Chiana huddled with her children on the large sofa in the living area. Berret did what he could to calm his family, but he'd never seen his wife so distraught, and he really didn't know what to do. He was able to at least settle the children by promising to take them to another toy shop, but even so, they wouldn't leave their mother's side. Zhaan had stayed to help with Chiana and had filled Berret in more on his wife's history with meeting up with her people. Zhaan suggested that he leave for a while and go for a walk to calm himself and let her talk with his wife in the hope that she could relax the Nebari woman. Berret didn't want to leave her, but the Delvian Priest often knew best what to do in such situations; so he bowed to her request, besides... he knew just where to go.  
  
Rygel was glancing over some documents when the angry Shrike burst into his reading room.  
"Rygel!" he thundered as he stalked up to the Hynerian's desk and pounded down on it with both hands.   
"Why weren't we informed that there were Nebari present on the planet?" demanded a furious Berret.  
Rygel glanced up from his reading and calmly regarded the ex-assassin before putting his paperwork aside.   
"There are a lot of different representatives from other races here at this micron. Why the frell would you care about the Nebari?" he asked.  
"Because... two of them accosted Chiana and the children in the market and attempted to take them prisoner for their damned brain washing program. She's sitting in our quarters almost shocked into a coma," said the Shrike heatedly.  
"How dare they assault a guest of the royal house!" said the Hynerian ruler. "Where they hurt? Who was it?" he asked and then apologized for not remembering sooner Chiana's past dealings with her people.  
Berret described the Nebari Official to Rygel. "Bad news," said the Hynerian. "That sounds like Hyril, the Abettor to the Nebari Ambassador, he has diplomatic immunity and I can't do anything to him except throw him out of Hynerian space, which will cause some major problems in our negotiations I'm afraid. Did you kill him?" Rygel then asked.   
"No," said Berret, knowing that getting Rygel to do anything that would politically hamper him to be almost impossible, he didn't push the subject, but explained to him what happened.   
When he was finished with the story, Rygel said, "Too bad, he's a pompous ass and a real bastard. He would have benefited from a good neck snapping."  
  
"Why are there so many representatives of different races here?" asked Berret after a moment.  
"Why do you think?" said Rygel slyly, wanting him to figure it out for himself and get his mind off his wife's attack.   
"I don't know," said the Shrike annoyed, "That's way I asked..." he cut himself off as he noticed what the papers were that Rygel had been studying when he entered. They were reports of projected Hynerian Navy Fleet strengths and sector placements.   
"The war," he said as it came to him, "You're all meeting about the war."  
Rygel chucked. "Give the Shrike a prize," he said, "I see you're beginning to use what little brains you have for a change."  
He ignored the good natured, for Rygel that is, dig. "You're all waiting to see what happens between the Peacekeepers and Scarrens," he went on. "You're going to let them fight it out until there's a winner. Then you're going to mass and wipe that winner out."  
"Correct again," said Rygel. "I can see all those cycles with me have finally rubbed off on you," he said in mock pride. "That's why I can't intercede with the Nebari Ambassador on your and Chiana's behalf. It'll take the combined might of the Hynerian and Nebari Military, plus what ever ragtag fleets we can scrape together to totally defeat whoever the victor of this war will be. The Territories have been under one or the other's rule for hundreds of cycles. There is just too much at stake here now to jeopardize it all because of one frell-head Nebari Official."  
The magnitude of what Rygel was planning amazed the Shrike.   
"I understand, Rygel," he said touching the scars on his neck. "To have them all gone, totally destroyed.... is worth almost any price." His hatred of the Scarrens was still strong even after all the cycles that had passed since he had killed Arckatius, the Scarren Syndicate head who had enslaved him. "Have you told the others your plans yet, they'll want to know."  
"Not yet, and I would appreciate you letting me explain it to them.... you'd probably frell it up," he said.  
Frowning at the small being, Berret went on, "Just so you understand, if Hyril or his people comes for Chiana and the kids again... I will kill him. Diplomat or no diplomat."  
"What'd you telling me for?" asked the Hynerian. "I'd help you hide the body.... unofficially of course."  
  
Rygel said the last statement with a mischievously raised wispy eyebrow.  
"If it comes to that, there'll be no need to hide bodies. I plan to deliver the corpse to the Nebari Embassy myself," said Berret in deadly seriousness. "I will not tolerate 'anyone' frelling with my family."  
Having seen the Shrike's efficient manner of killing in the past, Rygel said,   
"Of that I have not doubt. However the Nebari Ambassador wants this alliance as badly as I do, I believe a strongly worded official protest will be enough to stop any further attempts to mind cleanse Whitey."  
"See that you do," demanded the Shrike as he turned to leave. "And Rygel...." he said turning back to the Hynerian. "Thank you."  
Rygel looked at the man and nodded, "You're welcome, Jared. Believe it or not... I love the little thief too."  
Berret nodded that he knew and Rygel straightened in his chair and waved him away, "Now go back to your family and get out of my way, Shrike. I have important work to do."  
  
Berret returned straight to their apartments. When he entered, Zhaan was coming out of the master bedroom. The Delvian motioned for him to be quiet and moved aside so he could peer into the room. Chiana and Chulee were curled up together on the bed sound asleep. Zhaan closed the door and then led Berret back into the living area.   
"What did you do? I didn't think she'd be able to sleep for some time?" he asked in a low voice.   
"I gave her a cup of Raslek, laced with diluted sleep mist in liquid form. She needs the rest and will sleep for several arns," explained the Priestess. She saw the concern on Berret's face for the Nebari woman.  
"You need not worry. She worked herself up into a panic because she was concerned for the children's safety. This was actually the first time they've been in any danger and she suddenly found herself at a loss as to what to do. If she had been by herself, she would have handled the situation more naturally. As the survivor she is," Zhaan assured him.  
Berret listened to the explanation and realized her assessment was correct. Chiana had never been in a situation where defenseless others had depended totally on her for their safety. She'd always gone into dangerous places able to take care of herself or with people who could do likewise. Even he had not thought that far enough ahead to see that possibility ever happening and he began to chastise himself.  
"I guess being parents changes more aspects of your life then you truly realize until something like this happens," he said.  
"No one can ever plan for every eventuality happening. You have to reassure Chiana that she did the best she could in the face of her own personal terrors, that is all that can be asked of any being," instructed Zhaan. "She'll be alright after the shock wears off. She's a strong woman."  
Berret thanked her for her help and she told him Jalen was in his room reading, the boy being as unflappable as a Luxan under stress. She gave Berret a few more instructions, then gathered up her things and left. Berret looked in on his son. The boy was sprawled across his bed reading an adventure story that Jothee had given him.   
"Jalen, are you doing okay?" he asked. The boy looked up from his book.   
"I'm okay, Dad. Mom's doing better after Aunt Zhaan gave her something to drink. Chulee fell asleep on the couch," he reported.   
"I know. I've already spoken to Zhaan," his father told him. He was about to walk away when he saw that his son had a question that he was still trying decide if he should ask.   
"Is there something else 'Len?" he queried, using the shortened form of his name that Chiana sometimes did.  
"Dad? Can I ask you a question?" the boy finally got out.  
Berret went back and sat down on the bed beside his son, "You know you can ask me anything and I'll answer if I'm able."  
"What you did to that man who scared Mom, how did you do it?" he asked.  
Berret sighed, he'd always known one day he'd have to explain his past to his children but he was not expecting it to be so soon.  
  
"You know how Uncle John and I are not from the Territories, that we come from a place very far away." The boy nodded his head that he did. "You also know, while we look Sebacean like Aunt Aeryn, we are not. We are from a planet called Earth or Terra in the Sol system. Uncle John got here because of an accident with a wormhole."  
"With the FarScape Module!" answered the boy knowing the story.   
"Yes," said his father. "I arrived here a different way. Some very bad... people, for lack of a better term, took me from Earth a long time ago and did some things to me to change me.   
"What kind of things?" asked his son.   
"You know the translator microbes that Zhaan injected you and Chulee with when you were about a cycle old? So you would be able to understand everyone you'll meet in your life." At the boy's nod he continued. "Well, they used a different kind of microbe to change me. This microbe allows me to do things like I did with that man this afternoon."  
"Why did they change you for?" was the next question, one of the ones Berret didn't want to answer.  
"These were very bad people as I said. They wanted me to be able to go and hurt other people they were mad at for them. That's why they made me stronger and faster then I was. They made me into what they called an 'Enforcer' or what's sometimes known as a 'Shrike'."  
"Really? A Shrike," asked Jalen, "like in the stories?"  
"Something like that, I guess," answered his father  
"Did you hurt people for them?" Jalen asked. Berret almost faltered looking into his son's innocent eyes.  
"Yes, 'Len. I hurt a great many people for them," Berret admitted, wishing he could lie. "But I didn't want to do it." He pulled open the neck of his shirt so the boy could see the scars at his throat. "You see these scars? Pilot has told you how Peacekeepers control other Leviathans like Moya?"  
"Yes, with the control collars," Jalen answered.  
"Exactly, They used a similar device to make me do what they wanted, that is what made these marks," he explained to the boy. Jalen though about his father's story for several microts and then asked,   
"Will I be able to do things like you can when I'm older?"  
"No, thank the Goddess. Aunt Zhaan checked you and Chulee very closely when you were born. Neither of you have any of the microbes. They weren't passed on," Berret said.  
"How did you get away from the bad people?" the boy asked wondering about the end of the story.  
Berret smiled now he had something positive to tell his son. "Now that starts the good part of the story... your mother saved me," he said.  
"Mom saved you?" said Jalen in disbelief.  
"Yes, your mother saved me twice, and then you and Chulee saved me a third time."   
Totally confused, the boy asked, "How?"  
"Well, the bad people took everything I had from me, even my memory. For a very long time I didn't know who I was or where I was from. One day your mother came along and saved my life and gave it back to me, that was the first time. Then when we bonded, she saved my soul, that was the second time your mother saved me."   
"And how did me and Chulee save you the third time?" asked the confused lad, still wondering.  
Berret touched his son's cheek affectionately, looking into his blue eyes.  
"When you and Chulee came along, you both gave me back my heart... and that was greatest rescue I could ever have received." 


	6. Chapter 5

"The shear nerve of that man to lay his hands on me!" complain Hyril, in a voice raspy from his bruised throat. "The guards should have killed him instantly. The incompetent fools!" he continued, rubbing at his injured neck. Lerris, the Nebari Ambassador, sat at his desk, hands steepled in front of him as he listen to Hyril rave about his unjust treatment in the market square.   
"And have them go up against a Qualta armed Luxan? That would have been suicidal," said the Ambassador in a quiet reasoning voice.  
Hyril went on almost as if the other man had never spoken, "And to have the audacity to claim to be bond-mate to a Nebari citizen... it was pure insolence! Those half-breed children are an abomination to everything our people stand for."  
"Granted, there have been cases were some of the younger generation have rebelled against conformity. Which have resulted in cross species relationships," said Lerris. "There were certain 'projects' that used this rebellious behavior as a means to a end, but it has always been my understanding that there were certain safeguards built into those projects to prevent discovery; and if that is so... where did she come from? Shouldn't those 'measures' have been self implementing cycles ago in case the subjects were not recoverable?"  
"Yes," Hyril hissed through his sore throat. "Those subjects should have been self terminating after they had traveled and spread the... project."   
The Ambassador's use of word play to circumnavigate coming right out and saying that the Nebari government had used some of their young people to spread a contagion throughout the Territories was beginning to annoy Hyril. The high sex drives of Nebari young made them the perfect carriers for spreading the contagion. It was also one of the main reasons to practice mind cleansing.  
"But we also know that some of the rebels are survivors of that project and have developed a cure for their condition. Further more," he said leaning over the desk until he was mere hentas from the Ambassador's face, "Nerri's sister was never found... and our informants have no record of her ever being with the resistance." He waited to see if the other man followed his point.  
Lerris leaned back in his chair and thought for a micron. "That changes everything if this woman is Nerri's sister. Are you reasonably sure that's who she could be?"  
"I've sent for the sister's records from the Homeworld, I should have confirmation within a solar day," said Hyril.  
"Very good, I want to know immediately what you discover. Having the only sister of the Rebel leader in our grasp will be a precious bargaining chip indeed," Lerris said to his subordinate.   
"Now this man, the one who called her his... what's the word again? Oh yes, his wife. What do you know about him?"  
"Not much, the bastard appeared to be just some Sebacean male," Hyril replied.  
"Think again!" Lerris snapped. "How many Sebacean men do you know who can pick another man up off his feet by the throat with one arm and hold him there for that length of time?"  
Hyril shrugged his shoulders to indicate he didn't have an answer.  
"A Luxan could do it, but not a normal Sebacean man. There is something more here then meets the eye, and that could lead to problems if this woman is who we think she is," said the Ambassador.  
An Aid entered and quickly departed after handing Lerris a message that he read while Hyril carried on the conversation. A sly smile developed on the Ambassador's face as he perused the letter's contents.  
"Whoever or whatever he is... he's a dead man if we meet again. No one insults and manhandles me, then lives to brag about it," vowed Hyril.  
"Well, we have a bit of luck," said Lerris, holding the paper up for him to see. "It appears we already know where your new friends are located."  
"Where?" asked Hyril.  
"They are personal guests of our gracious host, Rygel the Sixteenth. This is his official protest over the incident in the market and his request that there be no further attempts to take the woman into custody."  
"Does he mention her by name?" asked Hyril hopefully  
"No, just that she and her family are royal guests and are not to be contacted by embassy staff or personnel in any way, shape, or form," he read from the message. "Well, that only complicates matters a tiny bit. Rygel wants this alliance as badly as we do and he's not going to risk it over one Nebari female and some half-breed brats. Began your preparations to retrieve her if she turns out to be Nerri's long lost sibling."  
"It will be my pleasure, Ambassador," Hyril said with a bow and turned to leave the office.  
"Hyril," the Ambassador called, continuing on only after the man turned back to face him. "I want this done as quickly and quietly as possible. Revenge against her bond-mate is second place and if it has too... it will wait."  
"I understand, Ambassador," Hyril replied with an insincere smile and then left.  
Knowing the other man had no intention of putting his vengeance on hold and had not fully grasped the full threat offered by the woman's bond-mate, Lerris shook his head slightly.  
"Fool," he muttered at the man's departing back.  
  
Chiana awoke slowly, feeling very groggy. A warm hand touched her cheek and startled her into becoming fully awake in an instant. She shot up into a sitting position looking around herself in a panic.   
"Chulee! Jalen!" she called.  
"Shhhhh..." said her husband's gentle voice as he took her face in both hands and gently directed her until she was looking at him. "It's all right, Love. They're both playing in the main room. I just wanted to wake you so you can eat something. Zhaan made you this herbal soup," he said holding the steaming cup up for her to see. Chiana sniffed the air and found the aroma coming from the cup enticing. Her stomach made a rumbling sound and she realized she was famished. Berret held the cup until he was sure the woman was awake enough not to drop it. She finished the whole cup in just a few microns while her husband sat patiently waiting. When she was finished, he took the cup from her and arranged her pillows so she could sit up more comfortably.   
"Are you feeling better now?" he asked.   
Chiana nodded in the affirmative to him but still looked miserable. Berret hated when his normally zestful wife became sullen, he was never sure what to do to lift her spirits and it made him feel useless.  
"Do you want to talk about it?" he tried, and to his surprise Chiana's dark eyes began to shine with unfallen tears. "What have I done now?" Berret thought in a panic, mentally reviewing his words and actions to remember what he's said or done to upset his wife.  
"Oh, Jared!" she finally said, "I am so...so sorry!" and the tears began to fall.  
"For what!" asked Berret confused and bewildered.  
"I didn't know what to do! They came... and with the children... I panicked!" she said. Her words running together so quickly he was only able to pick out a few.  
Berret pulled her to him and held her tight. "Chiana... Chiana, my love... please stop," he begged, trying to speak over her lamentation. He placed his lips close to her nearest ear and whispered, "Little Pixie, if you don't stop crying... you'll have me crying right along with you at any microt."  
The use of his private name for her got her attention and she calmed for a moment.   
"And if that happens," he continued on trying to hold her interest with a silly voice that he sometimes used when reading stories to the children, "Our sheets will become so water logged that we may both drown in our sleep tonight. Then Rygel will take our possessions... our children will grow up thinking Crichton is normal... and Chulee will certainly never find a bond-mate if she has to bring her suitors home to undergo Ka D'argo's scornful scrutiny." Chiana sniffled and bit her lip to hold back a weak smile.   
"Now you're just being stupid," she said, wiping away a few tears from her cheek.  
"I know, but that's what you have me around for," he told her in a normal voice as he began to rock her in his arms. Chiana put her arms around him and hugged him back. Looking up she could see that he might indeed join her in tears at any moment despite his attempt at humor.  
  
She hugged him tighter. "I was so scared. I knew right away they wanted to take me for mental cleansing. With the children there I didn't know what I should do," she told him. "I feel like I failed the children and you. I just couldn't think straight I was so scared."   
"When I heard you screaming my name, I was scared too," he said. "But then I saw you standing your ground and facing them down. Defending our children like an enraged She-Luxan. Then I stopped being scared and became angry."  
"You froze too?" she asked.  
"Yes, for a few microts. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing," he replied. "I never considered anything like this happening either and for a few microts, I myself didn't know what to do. Then I followed my instincts just as you did."  
"I just don't like being taken surprised and helpless like that, especially when the kids are involved," she explained, her eyes dryer now.  
"Zhaan says that we can't possibly plan for every possible event that might happen and that does not make us bad parents," Berret told her.  
A small smile actually broke out on Chiana's face. "She told me the same thing this afternoon," she said while making herself more comfortable leaning up against her mate. "She always seems to know the right thing to say for everything."  
Berret chuckled and began stroking her long hair, "Well, it's little wonder. She's lived several lifetimes longer then you and I both put together. Speaking of which, everybody but Pilot has been here this afternoon wanting to know how you were, and I'm sure Pilot would have been here if he could have figured out a way to get Moya into this bedroom," he told his wife. "But he did comm as soon as he heard. Rygel also says to tell you he's contacted the Nebari embassy with an official protest and they are under strict orders not to have contact with us in any way."  
"He didn't give them our names, did he?" she asked excitedly. "If they knew I was Nerri's sister..."  
Berret put a finger to her lips to quiet her; knowing his wife would be worried about her brother, a man he'd never met but had heard a lot about from his wife.   
"He only identified us as being guests of the royal house," he assured her, and then went back to stroking his wife's hair.  
"Good," she sighed relieved. She relaxed to enjoy the feel of his hand running through her hair.  
  
It was getting late and Chiana excused herself to use the shower. Berret took care of the children, tucking them in and telling them their mother would be in to say goodnight shortly. While waiting for Chiana to finish bathing, Berret considered for a microt sneaking in and surprising her with a 'Norman Bates' attack of his own. He almost immediately disregarded the thought, thinking that his wife had had enough surprises for one solar day. 'Norman Bates' would have to wait for another time. He wandered down to the first floor common level and out into the garden to get a breath of fresh night air. He'd just stepped outside and literally taken his first deep breath of the crisp night air when a sound told him he wasn't alone. Automatically he stepped back into the nearest patch of pure dark and faded into the shadows. A few microts of waiting and a Sebacean man dressed in one of Rygel's guard uniforms and armor with a Pulse Rifle slung over his shoulder walked into view. Rygel had employed many of the larger Sebacean refugees as guards and law enforcement personnel. The Shrike guessed that having been raised on an agricultural colony had its benefits as the man was easily half again his size and powerfully built. The refugee Sebaceans were honest and hardworking people and this one was no different as it was obvious that he took his patrol duties seriously. "If Rygel has taken the precaution of posting extra security, it must mean the Hynerian doesn't trust the Nebari to behave themselves," thought Berret.  
Berret was touched in a way that Rygel would go to such lengths to protect his friends and not alarm them, but at the same time he'd wished the Hynerian had shared his suspicions with the group. The man had walked passed Berret's hiding place and was about to continue on his round when the Shrike stepped back out into the lit area of the garden. He deliberately twisted the toe of his boot to grind the gravel beneath it. The noise alerted the man to his presence and the guard turned to face him. Pretending that he had just seen the man for the first time, Berret said, "Oh! Good evening Officer. Is there something going on?"  
The guard recognized him immediately. "Good evening, Lord Shrike," the man said bowing.  
Rygel's Palace help always made it a point to call the crewmates by the titles Rygel had bestowed upon them. It was a sort of an honor among the servants to be employed at the Palace and it was a matter of pride that everyone be referred to by their proper titles. Which is why Rygel dismissed them for the private get-togethers, the servants just about blew brain cells when the crew called the Dominar by their favorite nicknames. A few of the older matronly servants have been known to take Rygel to task for calling his guests by his favorite nicknames instead of by the titles he had given them while they were in public where others might hear. Nothing, not even their Dominar, was going to tarnish the reputation of the Royal House if they could help it.  
  
"Please call me Jared or Berret if you would, Officer...?" he left the sentence hanging for the man to fill in.   
"Rickler, My Lord," the man supplied with a slight bow.  
"Well, Officer Rickler-My-Lord," the Shrike joked, "What brings you out to the gardens tonight?"  
The man stared blankly at Berret for a microt and then let out a great belly laugh. "Point taken, My... er... Jared." The man held out an arm almost as big around as D'argo's.   
"First Sergeant Joban Rickler, 1st Elite Hynerian Guard. At your service."  
Berret grasped forearms with the large man in the traditional warrior greeting.   
"Joban is fine, if you like," he continued  
"That would be fine, Joban. After all... what are titles to old warriors like us, huh?" asked Berret, noticing that the big man was older then he first surmised.   
Joban chuckled, "I've not been a warrior long. I was a farmer until the Scarrens came along and laid waste to everything my family and I owned. I buried my wife back on my home planet before we had to run and come here," the man said sounding bitter at his lost.  
"I'm very sorry," said Berret, being reminded about how close he came to losing Chiana and his children that afternoon.   
"Not your fault," said the big man. "Dominar Rygel took the group of us in and gave us a purpose and a new home again. I made it here with my two daughters. The Dominar gave me the training I needed to become a security officer and now I'm a first sergeant with the Elite Guard," said the man with pride. "My youngest daughter Nella is in school learning to become a nurse and my oldest, Tamilla, works here in the Palace itself."  
"Yes, I've met her," said the Shrike brightly. " A very beautiful young lady."  
Joban nodded his thanks. "She's mighty taken with General D'argo's son. It's all anyone at home can do to stop her from talking about him constantly."  
Berret chuckled, "I'm quite sure the feeling goes both ways. I've know Jothee for quite awhile and I believe she is almost all he talks of himself." Berret found himself liking the man immensely. "So Joban, why does our illustrious Dominar have you out here trumping through the garden getting mud on your nice shiny boots?" asked Berret, getting the conversation back on track.  
"Ack!" the man said waving his hand, "It's those frelling Nebari... beggin' your pardon, not meaning anything bad about your Lady Chiana or the little ones."  
Berret was surprised about how much information the man had about his family.  
"It's okay, Joban. I can assure you my wife shares your feelings about other Nebari. Please go on," he urged.  
"Well, the Dominar doesn't trust them... and I can't say I blame him. He knows they're up to something. He ordered the guard doubled and your apartment grounds patrolled," explained the big security officer.  
"The whole troop has heard about what you did to that vork, Hyril, in the market... and to be truthful, you should have killed that one. A lot of people who've had run-ins with him have turned up hurt or missing.  
I would keep my family close and watch your back. He's not the type to let a public humiliation like that go, especially when it started over a Nebari citizen. You know how they are about their people conforming."  
  
Berret thought on what the man was saying. "Thank you for the advice, Joban. I will do just that. Now if you don't mind I'll have to say good night. My wife will be wondering where I've gone to," Berret held out his arm for Joban to grip again.  
"You're welcome, Jared," he said taking the offered arm, and then keeping hold of it in his tremendous grip, he leaned in close as if to confided a secret. "My Lord... a lot of the people here on Hyneria, all of the races living here, are thankful to your crew for returning Rygel to the throne. The Elite have vowed to protect the throne and all friends of the throne. I promise you that nothing, or no one will harm your family while I or my troop draw breath."  
Berret had liked the man the instant he'd met him, but the man's dedication to his duty to protect another man he had just met and his family with his life earned him the Shrike's instant respect.   
"Then with you on duty, my family and I will rest easy tonight," the Shrike said and meant it. They bid each other a good night again and as Berret started to return to his apartment he turned back one last time.   
"Joban," he called. The big man turned at the sound of his name. "If you can, join us for breakfast in the morning then you get off duty."  
The Sebacean started to protest. "I can't. That wouldn't be proper," he said.   
Berret screwed up his face as if in deep thought. "Then call it a order by the Lord Shrike. What use is a title if you can use it for anything?" he said, waving as he turned to leave before the man could refuse again.  
  
In his apartments, he found Chiana had finished her shower but was still doing those things that woman do when they're done with showering, but still hogging the lavatory.   
"Where were you? I just finished tucking the kids in," she called from the semi opened bathroom doorway.   
"I took a short walk in the garden," he answered her. Going over to the far wall of their bedroom, Berret tapped it in a certain place. In response a section of the wall opened up revealing a small armory of pulse and bladed weapons. Each of the crewmate's apartments contains such an armory. Rygel had indeed thought of everything. Berret chose a Pulse pistol and inserted a fully charged power clip into the handle of the weapon. He closed the secret compartment and took the gun with him, placing it high up on top of a cabinet where the children couldn't reach it. He decided he wouldn't tell Chiana tonight about the extra security put on throughout the Palace because of the Nebari threat. Thinking that his wife had been through enough worry for one day and even though he knew the small woman would make him pay dearly for withholding the information from her later when she found out. He hadn't been able do much for her of late, but at least he could try and give her a relatively peaceful night. At least that was his intention until she came out of the lavatory wearing something that was really almost nothing at all.   
"Well?" she asked striking a pose for him.  
He swallowed hard. "Ah? Ah?..." was all he could repeat dumbly.  
Well, maybe it wasn't going to be such a peaceful night after all he thought.  
  
  
Hyril drummed his gloved fingers on the top of his desk. The file transmission from home was taking forever to downlink to his personal portable Comp-unit. Idly he rubbed at his abused throat. The pain had somewhat lessened overnight but the Nebari official could still feel the man's Plas-steel hard fingers as if they were still squeezing his neck. When he closed his eyes he saw the man's angry face and heard the hint of impending death in his cold voice. He cursed to himself again as he recalled how the man had blatantly manhandled him in front of a crowd of common alien trash. The lowlife scum on the streets seeing his humiliation and fear at the alien's hand, laughing and making him nothing but a joke. The blue blood in his veins burned for revenge, at the same time his mind recoiled with disgust at the though of that alien's touch defiling Nebari flesh... both his and the woman's. The little tralk probably enjoyed being contaminated by the outland scum and breeding his bastard children.  
"No matter," he thought. She'll soon be mind cleansed either way and brought back into the folds of Nebari society. Although he'll have to see she's assigned to the lower level pleasure houses on the Nebari Prime once her usefulness here had ended. Once touched by an alien hand, such was not fit for use by the upper-class members of society, but she'd be well enough for common workers and drones. Perhaps he'd take her around and put her on display. The great Rebel Leader Nerri's sister - nothing but a curiosity, a show animal to remind those who might chose not to conform. The children would have to be 'wiped' and it wouldn't matter to her because she'd never remember them anyway, he thought with a smile. His Comp-unit chimed to tell him his file downlink was complete. He activated the file and a holo imaged shimmered into existence above the Comp-unit's holo emitter. Data streamed down the sides of the image but he ignored it, his attention on the face of the young girl the picture showed him.   
"Got you," he said with a sneer.  
  
"You're positive it's her?" asked Lerris looking at the holo-picture coming over the comm. It showed a young Nebari girl with a mischievous smile. Her white hair bobbed short in a style popular about ten cycles back with the younger generation of Nebari then. "This is Nerri's sister, Chiana?"  
"Absolutely," replied Hyril voice over the holo-comm. "She's older now of course and her hair is longer, but that is the woman I saw at the market yesterday."  
Chiana's picture faded to be replaced by Hyril's face on the comm.  
"You've made all the arrangements we discussed earlier?" asked Lerris.  
"All is in ready, Ambassador. At your command the operation can proceed as planned," assured Hyril.  
"Proceed then," Lerris commanded and disconnected the comm link from his end.  
Hyril turned to the Nebari Captain sitting out of view from the holo screen.   
"Are your men ready, Stoma?" he asked  
The Captain stubbed out a lit Olcot root as he blew the smoke out of his lungs, a nasty habit he'd picked up sometime in his career. "We are ready to began at anytime, Abettor Hyril," he said.  
"Good, the operation begins tonight after dusk. Have your agents leaned anything more about her mate?" Hyril queried  
"Only that he is one of three Sebacean males traveling on the liberated Leviathan transport. Along with a Sebacean female, A Luxan and a Luxan/Sebacean half-breed, a pair of Delvian Priests, the Nebari woman and several children. DNA tracking is non-conclusive; no one seems to know who he is or anything about him. We are trying to find a source of information inside the Palace, but at this time we have not been able to learn anything or turn anyone. The servants are loyal to the Dominar to a fault and the refugee Sebacean servants even more fiercely so," reported Captain Stoma.  
"Very well, have your men prepare. I want that woman in custody by daybreak tomorrow. Bring her mate if you can. I want to deal with him myself, if not... kill him. But remember, no evidence leading back to us," ordered Hyril. Then after remembering D'argo's part in the incident, he added almost as a casual afterthought "Kill the Luxan full-blood also if you get the chance."  
"As you wish. What of their half-breed children?" asked Stoma   
"I expect those abominations to be correctly dealt with before you return here," said Hyril chillingly. The Abettor was confident his orders would be carried out as he instructed. Stoma was as big a fanatic about Nebari conformity as Hyril was himself, perhaps even more so. They worked well together and Stoma and his troops had never let him down. Nerri's sister would be in his hands and on her way back to Nebari Prime by this time tomorrow.  
  
As ordered, Joban dutifully reported to breakfast with the family that morning. He was both honored and charmed to be meeting the Lady Chiana in person. The man having heard the stories of her travels with the Dominar and how she helped restore Rygel to the Hynerian throne. At first it seemed improper for a lowly sergeant to be sitting down to breakfast with heroes of the empire, but Chiana's easy manner and quick wit soon had the big man at ease. He was soon laughing and chatting with the family as if he'd known them for cycles. He wasn't even so shocked to learn that the group as a whole didn't consider themselves any sort of heroes and that such claims made them uncomfortable. He had one small misgiving when at one point during the conversation he'd mentioned the reason for his presence on the grounds and the Lady Chiana lifted a single eyebrow and gave her husband a look that said he was in trouble at some later point in time. A look that all men with wives, such as he had been, knew well. The matter quickly slipped his mind as his daughter Tamilla appeared to serve the meal. As soon as the food was laid out on the table, Chiana made the girl sit and join them. The young woman's protest cut off when Jared seconded his wife's request.  
Jalen and Chulee were intrigued by Joban's battle armor and asked many question about it and his other equipment, which the kindly big man enjoyed answering. The meal was pleasant and seemed to come to end too soon. The officer enjoyed the company of his eldest daughter and the family but had to excuse himself to return to his own apartments to rest for that night's coming tour of duty. He bid them all a cheerful good day and headed home to end his. 


	7. Chapter 6

Chiana's reaction to being left in the dark about the added security was not as bad as Berret expected it would be. The lithe woman only singed a little bit of hair off his braided ponytail with her temper, but she quickly forgave him. Privately he thought that last night had been well worth withholding the news from her, and he meant for more then just the physical part. He was in a good mood having more or less dodged that pulse bolt when Jalen and Chulee cornered him. The small pair held him hostage until he agreed to their ransom of the promised visit to a toyshop. Chiana decided to stay at the Palace and quietly tell the others about the Nebari threat seeing Rygel was trying his best not to concern his friends with worry over the matter. Berret retrieved his Pulse pistol and concealed it in his belt under his jacket. He slung Chulee up on his shoulders, the little girl clutching her Nebari doll. With his son by his side, the trio set out into the market place in search of the perfect toy store. They had only gone a short ways on their quest before Berret became aware that they were being followed. Checking their back trail in the reflection of a shop window, he picked out three familiar Elite Guards in regular clothes tailing them at a discreet distance. Relieved, he blessed whatever passed as Rygel's soul for having assigned bodyguards to his family. Turning his attention back to his offspring he said, "Chulee, you may not use my braid as reins."   
"Sorry, Daddy," said his daughter as she stopped pulling on his hair and went back to showing her doll all the stores visible from her perch.  
"Now lets see what toy shops we can find," he told his children. Putting an arm across his son's shoulders he took them deeper into the market, followed by their three silent guardians.  
  
The journey to the toyshop was uneventful, unless you counted the children wanting every other toy they seen as an unusual event. Eventually then each settled on one and they made an equally uneventful return trip back to the Palace grounds. They entered the common floor to meet most of the crew sitting around on the overstuffed furniture talking. The conversation came to a stop as Berret and the children entered the room. Chiana made an obvious visual check of her offspring's well-being and after assuring herself of their good health relaxed again in her seat. Jalen and Chulee ran off to show their new toys to Missy and Andrea, leaving the adults alone to pick up their discussion.  
"Glad you made it back alright, Jared," said Crichton.   
"Yes," continued Aeryn, "Chiana has been telling us about the added security measures that Rygel implemented. I should go twist his little fuzzy ear off for keeping us in the dark if he thinks the Nebari are that much of a threat."  
Berret sat down next to Chiana. "I can't blame him, Aeryn. I truly believe that it is his way of attempting to take care of us. He wants us to feel safe and comfortable here, to consider it our home."  
"I'm very surprised you did something as tactically stupid as to leave the security of the Palace with the children after what happened yesterday," rumbled D'argo from beside his Delvian mate.  
Berret smiled and pulled out the concealed pulse pistol and laid it on the table, then told them of their undercover Elite Guard escort. "I would imagine that now if any of us left the Palace we would be under constant watch by the guard," he finished telling them.  
"Still..." said the Luxan not at all placated, "It was unwise."  
  
  
"You think Sparky wants us to give up our transport business and stay here?" asked John amazed, some time later.  
"Well, not give the business up totally," said Zhaan setting her cup down on the table. "More like put it on hold for awhile, at least until the coming conflict is over."  
Rygel had finally discussed the plans for taking control of the Territories once there was a victor between the Peacekeepers and Scarrens with his old crewmates that afternoon while the Shrike had been shopping with his children. Chiana gave Berret that look again that said he was in trouble if he knew anything about the plan and didn't share it with her. Berret tried his best to look innocent and pretend it was the first he heard of it, but his wife appeared skeptical of his innocence.  
"He more or less strongly advised it. He made a point that both Moya and us as a group would be safer here on the Hynerian Homeworld," continued the Pa'u.  
"He makes a valid point," agreed Malika as she leaned forward to snare a dessert cube from a tray, and then leaned back against Andar, "We only have the three Prowlers and the Wraith to protect Moya if the dren hits the oscillator... and that's not a whole lot of firepower to take into a war zone." She took a bite of her cube and then said around the mouthful, "And what, we only have two of the Hell-Storm missiles left?"  
"Two exactly," confirmed Aeryn. "I wish Rygel was able to get us more, but I imagine his navy is stock-piling them."  
"You know a better way to blow up a Command Carrier or Scarren Dreadnaught?" asked John.  
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," said his wife turning to look in his direction. "We can fill a Transport Pod with that concoction you insist on making and ram it into an enemy ship. What's it called again? 'Chilly'?" she asked.  
"There is nothing wrong with my cooking!" said John offensively. "I make damn good Chili."  
"Well, if that stuff doesn't blow up on impact, then at least the crew will die of excessive gastrointestinal cramps," put in Andar, as he vividly remembered several run-ins with John's attempts at home cooking. At the same time the comment sent snickers throughout the group.  
"Or they might blow each other away," said D'argo with a twinkle in his eyes, sending the others over the edge into fits of laughter.  
"Hey!" called Crichton trying to sound offended while holding back a grin, then giving up and joining in with them. "It's not my fault humans have a superior metabolism," he quipped.  
  
The group decided to give it a couple of more solar days before making the decision on if they should ride out the coming hostilities on Hyneria. Pilot and Moya would have to be asked to vote in the decision also.  
The children spent the day playing at one apartment or another and by the time Joban stopped by to pay his respects before going on duty for the night, Jalen and Chulee where pretty much worn out from their active day. Jalen had fallen asleep in his room when Chiana went into check on him. She pulled the boy's clothing off and it amazed her how he never woke up while she struggled with his limp body. She tucked him into his bed and kissed his forehead goodnight. Turning his light off she closed the door and headed into the main room. There on the sofa she found Chulee asleep curled up and tucked under her father's arm. Her Nebari doll lay on top of Berret's chest. Her husband also seemed to have nodded off while watching a vid-broadcast. She stood back and watched the pair sleep for a few microns, savoring the warm feeling of love she felt for her family. When she finally went over to the sofa, Berret's eyes came open at her touch.   
"Hey lazy, time to put the little one to bed," she said in a soft voice, smiling at him. "I've already put Jalen to bed, so just give her to me."  
"I'll do it," said Berret with a sleepy smile as he stood up with his daughter. The little girl automatically wrapped her arms and legs around Berret while still sleeping.   
"It always amazes me how they can do that," he said to his wife in a whisper so as not to wake their daughter.  
"They always know where it's safe," murmured Chiana as she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss the girl's cheek before Berret took her to her room.  
  
When Berret returned to the main room microns later he'd found Chiana had turned most of the lights off and was now lounging on the sofa. He joined her there and as soon as he sat down she scooted over to him to take over the place under his arm that Chulee had so recently occupied. He absently bent down to kiss the top of his wife's head and her wild white hair tickled his nose. She snuggled closer to him as they settled down and began watching a Hynerian program based on some historical event in the planet's history.  
A few minutes into the program, Chiana said, "So... Mr. Berret..."  
"Uh-oh," muttered Berret under his breath.  
"Did you know about Rygel's plans for attacking the winner of the war?" she asked looking up at him, waiting for an answer. Knowing it was no use lying to the Nebari woman, he admitted,   
"He made me promise not to say anything until he had a chance to speak with you all about it. His exact words were that I would frell it up."  
Chiana slapped his thigh in punishment. "Well, those promises don't include me!" she said as if he should know better.   
"His other exact words were not to tell that big mouth Chiana," Berret added nonchalantly.  
"Rygel didn't say that! Did he?" Chiana asked dumbfounded and shocked.  
"No. He did not," Berret admitted, telling her the truth. His punishment this time was a playfully nipped arm. Chiana made growling noises as she feigned sawing her teeth into his flesh. When she was finished he promised, "The next time Rygel tells me one of his secrets, I shall come to you right away and spill everything."  
Chiana reached up and pulled him down to her by the back of his head.  
"Ohoooo... you're becoming such a naughty boy!" she teased, their lips almost touching.  
"Only since I've been in your company,' he replied and pressed his lips against hers.  
"I'm glad to see you're picking up some of my better qualities," she said with a sly grin as they parted.  
  
Captain Stoma watched the lights in the apartment windows go out one by one through a set of occulars. He'd already plotted the rounds of all the Palace Elite Guards on the grounds. Tonight the big first sergeant traveled from post to post checking on his security men. Stoma's team was already in their concealed positions waiting for the order to attack. Their normally pale gray Nebari skin covered by black combat gear and face paint, they blended into the night shadows. The lights in the Nebari woman's apartment had dimmed almost an arn before when Stoma gave the signal to his men. As one unit they emerged from hiding and descended on the sentries, quickly and quietly dispatching them before hiding the bodies under foliage in the garden. The grounds secured, they crept silently and undetected into the common level of the Palace wing.  
  
Chiana had fallen asleep with her head laying on Berret's lap and he was just starting to nod off again himself when the hair on the back of his neck started to stand up on end. The unexplained feeling banished the drowsiness from the Shrike, bringing him fully alert. He carefully eased his wife's head off his lap and onto a pillow from the sofa. Not wanting to wake her over an odd feeling that might turn out to be absolutely nothing. He quickly went to their room and picked up his gun belt with the Pulse pistol and extra charge packs attached to it. He slung it over one shoulder instead of buckling it around his waist. He was just about to leave when his gaze fell over the Pulse rifle he'd taken out of the armory earlier in the day and set out. The nagging feeling got worse and he picked up the weapon at the last moment before walking out. He got to the front door and quietly eased it open. He'd just gently pulled it closed behind him when D'argo and Zhaan's door crept open to reveal D'argo and Jothee, armed with their Qualta rifles. Both warriors silently glided their way out into the hallway. The big Luxan looked up but wasn't really startled to see the Shrike in the hallway.   
"You feel it too?" D'argo asked in a whisper to Berret.  
"We are being hunted," added Jothee also in sotto voice, his Luxan senses testing the air.  
Berret nodded in agreement, his odd feeling confirmed by the pair of Luxans. He paused for a microt to fasten the pistol belt around his waist, now glad that he followed his instinct to take the rifle along also. The three crouched together to make their plans. D'argo turned to his son,   
"I believe our perimeter has already been penetrated. Your Uncle and I will advance as far as we can to the common level. I want you to go wake the others and have them organize a defensive position here on this level. Then I want you to join us but stay far enough at our rear to provide cover for a retreat if we need one."  
"Yes, father," answered Jothee as he turned to carry out his orders and alert the rest of the crew to the danger.  
"What about the Elite Guard?" asked Berret hoping that there was still some reinforcements coming to their aid. The Luxan shook his head and then tapped the side of his nose,  
"I can smell blood in the air now, most of the guard has probably been taken out already."  
Berret check his pulse rifle and looked back at the door to his apartment, wishing that his family were anywhere else but inside and in danger at that microt.  
"Ready?" D'argo whispered. Berret pounded a fist lightly against the Luxan's massive shoulder to indicate he was ready as he would ever be.   
"Good, then as Crichton says... Let's rock!" D'argo said with hard determination in his gravelly voice.  
  
  
Chiana was awakened when Jothee placed a hand over her mouth to keep her from making any loud noises. He placed a forefinger against his own lips to signal that she should remain as silent as possible before taking his hand away.   
"Jothee, what is it? What's goin' on?" she hissed her question to the young warrior.  
"We have trouble, Aunt Chiana. We think somebody is in this wing of the Palace," said the young man as he changed his grip on his Qualta rifle to help her off the sofa.  
"It's the Nebari isn't it!" said Chiana beginning to panic.  
"We don't know," said Jothee trying to cut off her panic attack. "We just need to get everyone together to repel them if they make it to the apartment level."  
Chiana looked around the apartment. "Where's Jared? Where's your Uncle?" she demanded.  
"He and Father are down below trying to set up a delaying action until we get ready up here," was the reply.   
"Damn that man! He never tells me anything. Wait until I get a hold of him," she grumbled trying to replace the fear and panic with anger as she went to gather her children and what weapons she could grab.   
  
In the hallway the others had started constructing barricades using overturned furniture. Aeryn, armed with a pair of pistols and a heavy pulse rifle stalked up to Chiana just as Jothee disappeared down the stairs after his father and Berret.  
"Get the children down behind the barricade and take up a position covering the east stairwell," she ordered before walking away to kick or drag more items on top of the pile they had already collected. Chiana nodded and led Jalen and Chulee inside the barrier. Missy and Andrea were already crouched down there and her offspring joined them. She did her best to reassure the four that everything would be all right and then unslung her two Pulse rifles and the bag of extra charge clips. She placed the extra Pulse rifle near where she would be fighting and held the second ready in her hands. John and Zhaan dragged a large heavy table from one of the apartments. The Delvian woman quickly snapped off the four thick legs with little effort and they placed the top up against the barricade, adding its thickness to their protection.  
"I really hope Sparky doesn't want us to pay for all this damage," Crichton commented.  
"Worry about it later, John," replied Zhaan as she readied her own Pulse rifle.  
Andar rushed out of his apartment carrying several cases of electronic equipment.   
"Normal communications are being jammed!" he reported. "I'm going to try hot-linking a tight beam to Moya and have Pilot alert Rygel of the attack," he explained as he threw his equipment behind the cover.  
"Make it fast!" ordered Aeryn.  
"Your wish is my command," muttered Andar as he connected components together, pausing only to catch a Pulse rifle that Malika threw to him. The young Delvian woman slammed a charge into her own rifle then checked a large knife tucked into her belt. The blade slid free of it's sheath and the woman's slim blue fingers twirled it around expertly in a blur. The sharp blade humming as it cut the air before she re-sheathed the weapon. Andar looked over and commented,   
"One day you're going to have to show me how to do that."   
He earned himself a tight smile from the young Delvian Pa'u. Zhaan looked up at the un-priestess-like skill but said nothing. A single pulse bolt sounded from the lower level followed a microt later by a barrage of them.   
"Dren!" shouted Aeryn, "Here they come! Everybody to arms!"  
  
D'argo and Berret had leapfrogged down the corridor. Taking turns covering each other while the other moved forward. They made it down the stairwell to the common level and into the main sitting room. Most of the lights having been shut off; they paused to let their eyes get accustomed to the low light levels. Luxan eyes adapted very quickly and the Shrike's eyes began to get the silver shine that meant the microbes were adjusting his eyesight to the darkness. Berret was just about to move further into the huge room when D'argo halted him. Getting the Shrike's attention he silently pointed down the next corridor. Waiting a few microts, Berret was finally able to make out the black shapes slowly crawling their way into the far side of the room. D'argo tapped him on the shoulder again to get his attention and mouthed the word "Nebari" while tapping his nose once more. An almost inaudible noise told them that Jothee had taken position up in the stairwell and was aware of the visitors. The Luxan motioned for the Shrike to move to one side of the room while he found a position at the other. Berret nodded that he understood and crept off in his assigned direction.  
  
The group of Nebari troopers began to spread out into the common room. Berret saw that he would have to cross a relatively opened section of the room with no cover. Having seen the room plenty of times in normal light, he remembered that there was a recessed alcove that ran along the ceiling of the wall near him. Silently he climbed up and disappeared into the shadows there. He was able to cover more distance using the alcove and was soon nearly above the lead man in the group. Berret smiled, like most species of humanoid beings the Nebari rarely looked up. There was something to be said about what John would call having the home field advantage. He made out D'argo settling into position, the blade and barrel of his Qualta rifle resting on top of a piece of furniture waiting for a target to step into his sights. Berret put aside the Pulse rifle and drew his pistol. He wrapped his legs around a pipe that ran into the wall and as the Nebari below him was about to pass under him, he dropped to hang by his knees directly in front of the man. The Nebari's eyes grew wide in surprise as Berret said, "Hello," and placed the muzzle of his pistol between the startled man's eyes. He then said, "Goodbye," as he pulled the trigger. The pulse bolt snapped the unlucky man's head back and sent him flying backwards into his comrades.  
All hezmana broke lose as Berret pulled himself back up into the alcove and seized his Pulse rifle before unwrapping his legs and allowing himself to fall back to the floor. Rolling in mid air to land on his feet, he then tucked and tumbled along the floor to cover as pulse bolts cut through the space he'd just occupied.  
D'argo had opened up from the other side of the room. The heavy whack of pulse bolts from the Qualta rifle cut the air and another black suited figure cried out and spun to the ground as the energy bolts chopped him in two. Over Berret's head more bolts from Jothee's rifle pounded into the makeshift barricades of the invaders. Berret brought up his own rifle and snapped off several bolts at the nearest men, forcing them to keep their heads down. The Nebari where too well entrenched now to draw out so the only solution to get them to show themselves was for D'argo and Berret to pull back and make them have to advanced. D'argo used hand signals to rely his order to the Shrike. Father and son provided cover fire as the ex-assassin pulled back to a new position. Then they provide more cover for the older Luxan to do the same thing. The ploy worked, as they were able to pick off two more invaders as they moved forward. They had to pull back twice more before they were again back at the stairwell.  
  
The fighting below sounded as if it was getting closer to Chiana. "Be careful, Jared," she thought to herself. Glancing down the second stairwell up to their level she saw the shape of a shadow flicker against the lower wall before whatever source of light there was snuffed out.  
"I think there's some coming up this way!" she shouted to the others as she bent lower to her cover.   
"Frell!" yelled Aeryn as she joined her. "I was hoping they wouldn't be smart enough to sent a detachment up the servant stairwell."  
"Since when do things ever go our way!" shouted John from his position guarding the forward hallway.  
"Just keep quiet and hold your position, Crichton!" growled the ex-Peacekeeper.  
Chiana stole a glance at the children as the noise of many footsteps sounded on the stairwell before her.  
"Keep your frelling mind on business, Chiana. If you want to get them out of this alive!" snapped Aeryn from beside her. At first Chiana thought the woman was cold not giving her own children a second thought. She then realized that their best hope for survival was for Aeryn and the rest of them to be hard.  
"Okay," murmured the Nebari as she sighted down her rifle. Zhaan hit the barricade beside them as the first couple black shapes rounded the corner and started up the last section of steps.   
"Now! Blow the frelling drez out of them!" cried Aeryn as she opened fire.  
  
D'argo had sent his son further up the stairs to a new cover position as he and Berret slowly were forced higher and higher up the stairwell behind him.   
"Father!" called Jothee, "There's firing coming from the apartment level behind us!"  
D'argo cursed. "They must have sent a force up the servant's stairway," he said. "Jothee, get up there and see what's going on. Be ready because we're going to be coming up behind you... hot!"  
Jothee nodded and rushed the rest of the way up the stairs.   
"This just keeps getting better and better," said Berret as he dropped a spent power pack and inserted a fresh one into his pulse rifle. "I'm down to one more power pack after this one," he reported.  
D'argo check his rifle, "I'm down to little over half charge."   
The two started picking their targets more carefully instead of spraying the area with bolts. More bolts came in from below chewing up what little cover they had. After a micron Jothee whistled the all clear.  
"Time to go," said the Luxan and the pair charged up the staircase.  
  
Crichton waved to Jothee as he stuck his head around the corner of the stairwell for a look. Zhaan, Aeryn, and Chiana were shooting down into the other stairway but otherwise the floor seemed secure.  
"Jothee's here!" Crichton called over his shoulder, just as Andar announced, "I've gotten a message through to Moya... Pilot is relying a call to Rygel right now."  
The equipment having served its purpose, Andar pushed it aside and took up his Pulse rifle then dived in beside Crichton.   
"That's some good news," said the human as down the corridor Jothee whistled to his father.   
"I have an idea!" said Malika as she started digging through her packs pulling out containers and vials.  
"I hope it's a good one," said Andar, resting his rifle along the rim of the barricade. Jothee was running full bore for their cover and he dived over the pile when he reached it. Scrambling up besides Andar, he reported,   
"Father and Uncle Jared are coming up right behind me... and they're bringing a lot of company."   
"How many?" asked John.   
"I don't know. It was too dark and there was too much movement to get an accurate count," was the young warrior's reply. "The only thing I can tell you is that they out number us for sure."  
  
D'argo and Berret reached the top of the stairway while still firing down at the men coming up behind them. As one they turned and ran for their lives to the relative safety of the makeshift fortress. Pulse bolts from John, Andar, and Jothee's guns speed past them as they laid down what cover fire they could. They both leap over the obstacle and hit the floor behind cover. D'argo crawled back the way they had just came from to added his firepower to John, Andar, and his son's. Berret crawled his way over to his wife, waving the children down as he passed.   
"Hi, you miss me" he asked offhandedly as he moved in beside Chiana. The Nebari woman ran off a burst of bolts into the stairway.  
"I am so grised off at you!" she told him.  
"Well, I'm glad to see things haven't changed much," he said as he dug into the bag beside her and pulled out a handful of replacement power packs. Noticing Malika bent over and mixing a bunch of things together, he asked, "What's Malika doing?"  
"I don't know!" his wife snapped, at the same time she was snapping off shots at a Nebari who had poked his head out from around the corner. Having missed her target she continued,   
"Maybe she's making frelling dinner!"  
  
Malika finished pouring a mixture of powdered chemicals into a small glass jar. She then added a handful of metal bolts, nuts and small screws. She sealed the jar and then placed it into a larger plastic jar and then poured a liquid from another container into the larger jar until the smaller container was completely submerged. Sealing that jar closed she called, "I've got it!"  
"Got what!" yelled back Aeryn. Malika crawled over to the Sebacean woman's side of the barricade.  
"Just watch," she said shaking the jar. She then slammed it down on the ground. Inside the bigger container the lid of the smaller one came off. The liquid rush in and mixed with the dry chemicals. The whole concoction began to bubble and foam.  
"Heads down!" she shouted and tossed the jar into the stairwell. The jar bounced down the steps, hit the far wall, and bounced down the next flight. Following Malika's example the crew ducked their heads just as a massive explosion rocked the floor. A ball of intense heat filled the stairway. The explosion seemed to have caused the other invaders at the opposite end of the hall to retreat a ways down their staircase, probably fearing that another such bomb was heading their way.  
  
"I really hope Sparky doesn't want us to pay for that," said Crichton after surveying the blast damage.  
"What the yotz was in that?" asked Andar as the group regained their feet and brushed dirt and dust off their weapons and themselves.  
"A little of this and a little of that," said the Delvian woman as she straightened her robes.  
"You'll have to teach me how to do that too," he said to her.   
"I don't care what the frell was in it as long as it bought us some more time," said Aeryn as she grabbed up her rifle and bag of charge clips. "This way should be clear now. Berret take point and find us a way out of here. Zhaan and Malika are the strongest so they'll take the children. The rest of us will provide cover support while D'argo, Jothee, and John ride drag."  
The group fell to their assigned positions without question. Berret stuffed a few more power packs into pouches on his pistol belt and various pockets before pulling his wife to him for a quick kiss goodbye. He jumped back over the barricade and with the rifle leading the way descended down the still smoking staircase. Behind him Andar took position at the top of the stairs to give him cover. Rounding the corner he found five charred bodies, all of which were torn apart in the explosion. Going one to another he made sure they were dead and then signaled Andar to follow him down.  
Andar followed the Shrike down the stairway. Behind him came Aeryn on guard. Malika and Zhaan followed next, each of the strong Delvian women carrying two of the group's children. Chiana brought up their back while John, Jothee and D'argo took turns falling back to cover the entire group's retreat. Berret felt sad and angered every time they came across a body of an innocent servant who was either killed in the crossfire or killed out right to buy their silence by the Nebari. The group managed to make it all the way to one of the lower sub-levels that ran the entire length and width of the Palace. They found an empty storage room and used it to regroup and make further plans.  
"Our best bet would be to continue further into the Palace and try to meet up with Rygel's people," said Aeryn to the group.   
"I agree, we should keep moving," said D'argo and his son nodded along with him.   
"But how will Froggy know to look for us down here?" asked Chiana after checking on her children.   
"Because this is where Rygel would run himself," rumbled the Luxan.  
"And he'll figure we'd do the same thing," continued Crichton picking up on their line of reasoning. 


	8. Chapter 7

"I want those grounds secured and I want a detachment of the Elite to search the sub-levels for Crichton and the others!" order Rygel the sixteenth.   
"My Lord?" asked Rygel's head of security. "How do you know they headed into the sub-levels?"  
"BECAUSE...." Rygel said exasperated, "That's what I would have done. You don't live with somebody for all those cycles and not know how they think."  
"Of course, Dominar. Right away," the man said as he snapped off a salute.  
"And bring me any Nebari you capture alive... or even dead for that matter. A corpse will be just as good as a living prisoner to confront the Ambassador with," Rygel added.  
"At once, My Lord!" said the Sebacean as he left the throne room.  
"And you better pray to the Goddess, Lerris... that nothing has happened to any of them... or there will be a second war in the Territories before this weeken is out," vowed the Hynerian ruler to himself.  
  
The operation wasn't going quite according to plan thought Captain Stoma. Their element of surprise was lost to them before they even gained access to the apartment level of the Palace. Somehow the people inside were warned and had laid an ambush for him and his men. The huge snarling dark shape in the common room firefight could only have been the full-blooded Luxan. The second smaller figure had to be one of the Sebaceans though he didn't know which one. Whoever it was, they were very agile and well trained to have appeared amidst his men like that without warning. Probably an ex-Peacekeeper he thought. He had lost a third of his advance team just crossing the common room and taking the stairway. Another eight men that were sent to try and secure the east stairway were most likely dead in that explosion. Not wanting to lose any more troops, he called for a withdrawal back down the stairway in case they lobbed another bomb down. Taking the time to revise his plan to account for the new situation he decided there was still time to trap his quarry before help from the Hynerian forces could organize and arrive. He sent a scout up the staircase and the man returned a few microns later to report the apartment level abandoned.   
He ordered his troops up the stairs. A few microns later he was standing at the scorched east stairwell.   
"They've headed for the lower sub-levels. Dispatch the men. This is now a seek and destroy mission. Kill everyone but the Nebari woman," he ordered his second in command.  
  
"Aeryn..." said John, rethinking the idea about moving deeper into the palace. "I think it's too dangerous to move with the children with us. It would be better if we stop and hide here."  
"John, listen to me. Look around this room. There is only the one exit," she said waving a hand about the storeroom.  
"Right, so it'd be easier to defend," Crichton replied.  
"Maybe, but we have nowhere to retreat too. It would be better for us if we keep moving," she reasoned.  
"I still don't like this. We're taking too big of a chance," he said shaking his head.  
"I agree with Aeryn," chimed in D'argo. "Here we are just 'seated ducks'."  
"Sitting ducks, D'argo... sitting ducks," John corrected.  
"Whatever! Aeryn is still right. We have to keep moving to stay ahead of the Nebari," pushed the Luxan.  
"The quickest way to get the children to safety is to push ahead to met Rygel's men," Aeryn told him.  
Berret was standing nearby holding Chulee. "What do you think J.B.?" asked Crichton, "Stay or go?"  
The Shrike looked around at the room, then at Chiana's worried face. The woman nodded to tell him that whatever decision he made she would back. "I'm sorry, John. Chiana and I don't want to move the children either, but I don't like this place... there's no room to... maneuver," he replied carefully picking the word.   
"I believe Aeryn and D'argo are correct."  
"Okay," said Crichton somewhat reluctantly. "It was just a thought. I really don't want my girls seeing anymore death today."  
Softening for a micron, Aeryn told him, "John, I understand your feelings and I feel that way also... but the sad truth of the matter is... is that we live in a violent place. The Territories 'are' a violent place. The children have had a safe sheltered life for almost ten cycles, but they have to learn about the real world if they are to continue to survive here. I'm sorry to say that sooner or later that lesson was coming. By the time I was their age I was able to field strip, clean, and fire several Peacekeeper issue weapons. Be glad they've had this much peace in their lives."  
"I know, Aeryn. I know," admitted Crichton to his wife. "I just wish the lesson could have come along later."  
She reached up and stroked his cheek. "So do I, John... so do I."  
  
"How are you holding up, Love?" Berret asked Chiana. His wife nodded her head to him.   
"I'm doing fine. Ummm, I'm sorry for snapping at you back there. I wasn't really mad at you... just sort of stressed out, ya know?"  
"I know. I get that way myself when somebody's shooting at me," he tried to joke.  
"Whoa... it's been a long time since we had to go through dren like this," commented Chiana, and then she slapped a hand over her mouth at the curse as she realized Berret was still holding Chulee.   
The little girl's eyes grew big at the uttered cuss word.   
"Whooow... Mommy gots a froth mouth!" she exclaimed.  
"I think under the circumstances the slip up can be ignored," said Berret smiling at his wife, turning to his daughter he said, "But it's not okay for you to talk like that... understand Shortie?"  
Chulee nodded "yes" solemnly to her father.  
"At least not till you're a little older," put in Chiana brushing the girl's hair back from her small round face.  
Berret looked at his wife, "Don't encourage her. She already has some of your bad habits," he teased.  
He gently brushed a spot of soot off of his wife's cheek, serious now,  
"I'm sorry too, Pixie. I would have come back to the apartment if there had been time."  
She nodded her understanding and reached around to hug him. Her Pulse rifle slapping against his back as she did, but he didn't seem to notice as long as she was close to him.   
"Let's get ready to move people!" called out Aeryn and they moved apart. Malika and Zhaan had removed their outer robes and had constructed slings out of the material into which they could each strap a child onto their backs. Chiana brought Chulee over to Zhaan while Malika bound Missy to her own. The Delvians' physical strength was such that they barely noticed the extra weight and the designed allowed them to hold their Pulse weapons in one hand while using their free arm to carry one of the other older children. They were soon ready to leave.   
"Okay, listen up!" ordered Aeryn. "D'argo and Jothee take point. Andar take point cover. John and Berret have drag. Chiana and I will cover Zhaan, Malika, and the children. We move fast, silent and stop for nothing. Everyone understand?" There was a round of assents from the rest of the crew.   
"Good, let's move out," the Sebacean woman commanded.  
  
Joban carefully looked around the area before letting the Nebari invader's body slip from his grasp. A fortunate twist of fate had saved him from becoming one of the dead squad of Elite guards when instead of continuing his rounds as scheduled he had to return along his route to tell the guard at the last post he visited a post order he forgot to give the man on his earlier stop. He arrived just in time to see the black-clad figure rise up behind the man before cutting his throat. Joban managed to slip in behind the shadowy shape and repay him in kind a few microts later. Since the comms were out, he been traveling the grounds perimeter removing enemy sentries as he came upon them. The big Sebacean man had just ambushed this last man and easily snapped his neck. The trooper died without a sound. He could hear muffled pulse fire coming from the apartment levels and he decided that he couldn't waste any more time removing perimeter guards. He crossed over to the nearest servant entrance. He hefted his Pulse rifle and eased the door slowly open. The Nebari man standing watch there assumed it was another of his group and was turning to ask a question when Joban shot him once in the chest. He stepped over the body and headed deeper into the bowels of the Palace, knowing he'd have to travel the sub-levels in order to get to the stairways leading up to the apartments above him. An explosion rocked the walls and Joban blessed the Goddess that Tamilla was home in bed and not here working. Wanting to rush his way through the levels, the Sergeant forced himself to slow down and take each step carefully. Sweeping the area before him with the muzzle of his Pulse rifle. Knowing that to hurry could be fatal and he would do no one any good dead.  
  
D'argo and Jothee moved almost at a run down the maze of corridors. Switching hallways as their senses told them of possible danger ahead of them in their current one. Andar hung back and covered the advancing Luxans' backs until they were sure of a path and then the group followed close behind when the all clear was given and the Luxans moved forward. Crichton and Berret took turns leap-frogging backwards behind the group when there was cover or moved backwards side by side when there wasn't any.  
John grabbed the Shrike's arm and halted him.  
"Shhhhh! Do you hear that?" asked the human.   
Berret stopped and listened hard, John was right. There was a group coming up behind them fast. Berret nodded and motioned for him to be silent. Using hand signals, Berret told him to move forward and warn the others while he covered their backs. Knowing the Shrike was more adapt at guerrilla warfare and setting up ambushes, Crichton sped away to give the warning. Berret slowed his pace to give John as much time as possible to reach the others. Moving from shadow to shadow it wasn't long before the first Nebari scouts appeared down the corridor.  
The two men were being careless, choosing speed over stealth. It told Berret that the Nebari were running out of time and that meant Rygel's people must be on the move. The Shrike slung the Pulse rifle over his shoulder and drew the big Peacekeeper combat knife at his belt. The blackened blade reflected almost no light in the shadows except for along its shiny razor edge. The men moved past the ex-assassin's hidden position and he glided in behind the rear scout. Berret slammed a knee hard into the man's lower back as he reach around and grabbed his chin and forced his head up. He rammed the blade of the knife into the spot were the Nebari's skull joined the top of his spine. Once it was buried deep he twisted the blade to server the spinal cord. The man went instantly limp and Berret yanked the blade free and let the body fall to the ground. The first scout turned at the slight sound behind him and started to raise his weapon. Berret flipped the knife around and caught it by the bloody blade. His arm snapped downward and the combat knife seemed to sprout instantly from the invader's chest. The Nebari looked shocked for a moment and attempted to still bring his rifle to bear on the ex-assassin. Berret covered the distance between them, the thrown blade having bought him the time. He slammed a palm heel into the man's nose knocking him unconscious. The Nebari quickly bled out and died without waking up. Berret retrieve his knife and wiped the blue blood off his hands. When he first came aboard Moya, the killing use to bother him even if he only did it in self-defense or in defense of a crewmate. Now with a threat to his family he found that it didn't bother him as much as long as they stayed safe. He was about to move on to join the others when a thought occurred to him. It was time to send Hyril a message and make good on his promise. He bent down and quickly went to work.  
  
The point man reported to Captain Stoma that he found something he should see. Pushing his way to the front of his troops, they moved aside to show him what the lead man had discovered. Sitting in the middle of the corridor were the bodies of his two scouts. They were propped up side by side with their arms over each other's shoulders as if sitting together in comradely conversation. The only problem with the picture was that each man's head was sitting in his lap... with a primed shatter grenade jammed into each mouth.  
One trooper was about to move the bodies when Stoma slapped the man,   
"Don't touch them, Dren-head! Can't you see they're boobie trapped!"  
The man cringed back, "I'm sorry, Captain... but the grenade's spoons are being held together by their jaws... as long as we don't try to remove them we should be safe."  
"You fool!" shouted the Captain, threatening to strike the man again. "Do you think such an obvious trap is the only one that they left behind?" He turned away from the man in disgust.   
"Nobody is to touch the bodies until we leave and then we're going to blow them to atoms... no evidence is to be left behind!" He turned to his second in command. "Move out now!" he ordered.   
The second officer kicked the men ahead of them. He looked one last time at the deceased scouts. Somebody left these men like this as a message. Remembering the incident and warning Hyril received that day in the market he was willing to bet his next pay-credit that the person responsible was the Nebari woman's bond-mate. It seemed he meant to make good on his promise to Hyril. The savageness of the act only proved the point that Conformity; the Nebari way... was the only true way for the rest of the Territories to follow.  
  
John ran up behind the rest of the group. "We've got trouble coming up behind us... and fast!" he reported to his wife and the rest. Aeryn turned and gave a sharp whistle up to Andar, who in turn repeated the call to the Luxan point men.  
"They're on to us all ready," commented Aeryn as the point team joined the group.  
Chiana turned to Crichton after it became apparent that Berret wasn't with him.   
"Where's Jared?" she asked pulling on his arm.   
"He stayed behind to slow them down," he answered and then seeing the look of worry on her face added, "Don't worry, Pip. I'm sure he found a way to ruin their day without getting caught."  
Chiana shook her head slightly to agree with him, if anyone could make a mess of things... it was her Bond-mate. She still nervously looked back the way John had just come as D'argo and Jothee where reporting that they'd found a main corridor ahead of them. Berret finally jogged up to the group a micron later and without waiting to be asked he gave his report,   
"Large group of Nebari... at least 12 men, about five microns behind me. I gave them something to think about, but they're still coming up fast."  
"Okay, then times up!" said Aeryn. "We head for the main corridor and we shoot our way through anything that comes up, no more detours and we don't stop until we met up with Rygel's guard. D'argo, Jothee, and Andar on point, Zhaan and Malika, let the older children run with you so you can fight, carry them only if you have too. Chiana, you provide cover for them. Jared, John, and I will run drag. Let's get the hezmana out of here."  
  
Once the crewmates broke into the main corridor the going was easier. However the wide spaces had little in the way of cover except some randomly scattered groups of boxes and crates. A few microns later the pursuing force of black-clad Nebari swept into the corridor behind them. The firefight that ensued forced the companions to take cover and make a stand. The two groups traded pulse bolts, neither side scoring hits with the first rounds.   
"We got ourselves a Mexican Standoff!" yelled Crichton to the others.  
"A can of who?" yelled back D'argo, wondering what the yotz he was talking about.  
"Never mind!" said John as he ducked a bolt.  
Aeryn felt it was a better situation. "If we can hold them here until the Elite guards arrive we'll be okay," she told the others. "Just nobody do anything foolish and get your heads down as much as possible. Time is now on our side."  
"I thought we were already doing something foolish!" shouted John as he fired off several bolts and ducked down again just as several more bolts answered him back. Pieces of the crate he was hiding behind flying off from the explosive impacts.  
  
Zhaan and Malika had the children back further from the fighting. The large crates containing some sort of machinery making almost perfect cover compared to what the others fought behind. Malika was just about to rise up over the top of one crate to fire her Pulse rifle when Zhaan pulled her back down. Malika looked at the older Delvian as if she'd gone mad, until Zhaan explained her action,  
"We don't want to draw the enemy fire here as long as these crates are giving the children sanctuary." Malika nodded at the wisdom, wishing she had thought of that before she almost made the mistake. Zhaan knew the younger woman would not stay out of the fight much longer. Her sense of loyalty not letting her stand by while the others fought.   
"Move up to Chiana's position and fight from there. I will take care of the children."  
The young Pa'u left without having to be told twice. She crawled her way forward past several crates until she came up along side the Nebari woman, who was standing up behind a tall metal crate and popping off shots before dropping back down behind it to change her rifle's power clip.   
"Hey, did you leave any for me?" the Delvian asked in greeting.   
Chiana looked at her and replied, "Oh yeah, there's frelling plenty to go around!" before standing back up to began shooting over the other's heads again.  
  
Captain Stoma raged at his men. "This is frelling getting us nowhere!" he said as a pulse bolt slammed into a cabinet he was using as cover. "We are almost out of time and will have to withdraw soon. I'm going to get the frelling woman myself!"  
He pointed out three of the men nearby, "You, you, and you will come with me. The rest of you will make yourselves useful and keep them pinned down."   
The three chosen troopers crawled after their commander into one of the side hallways away from the fighting. Once safely inside the side corridor, he called the men closer to him so he could give them their orders.   
"We are going to use these off-shoot hallways to get around and come up behind them. We want the Nebari woman alive if possible, the body if we have too, everyone else in that group you see... kill."   
The men nodded and followed their leader down the semi dark hall.  
  
Joban had almost made it to one of the servant stairways when the sound of pulse fire returned. This time it was coming from somewhere ahead of him in the sub-levels.   
"Smart. Very smart," he murmured to himself as he realized that the Dominar's old crewmates had taken the battle into the lower levels were they would be able to run and fight as needed. He turned away from the stairwell and headed in the direction of the new skirmishing. It wasn't long before he began to find the bodies. Most were other servants he'd known, one or two even from his home planet. The sight made the large man curse and fueled his anger. He came upon the two scouts still sitting in their friendly manner in the corridor where they died. The big Sebacean walked around the corpses examining them. He bent down close to inspect the shatter grenades lodged between the dead men's jaws and then chuckled.   
"My Lord Shrike... you are clever," he said to himself.   
He reached in and grabbing the first grenade by the arming spoon and pulled it free of the restraining jaws. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a pair of the extra grenade pins that most experienced soldiers would carry in case they had just such an occasion and needed to re-safe an armed grenade. Inserting the pin through the arming hole he was able to release the spoon. He repeated the operation with the second grenade and slipped them both into a pocket. He stood up and chuckled some more while kicking the bodies over. After his examination he knew there were no other boobie traps, but the Nebari probably spent precious microns trying to find where they were before giving up and leaving the bodies untouched. He picked up his rifle and started again for the sounds of fighting.   
"That really must have mind frelled them... clever indeed," the man murmured again, smiling to himself.  
  
Jothee's Qualta Rifle clicked dry. He looked down at the power meter. "Out!" he called to his father as he unhinged and folded the handle, causing the two blade halves to close over the barrel making a solid blade again. He slung the blade over his shoulder and re-sheathed it and then drew a pulse pistol from his belt.  
Checking his own Qualta rifle the Luxan said, "I'm almost dry too," as his son started firing his side arm at the Nebari. Chiana heard the Luxan's report and unslung her second Pulse rifle and dropped it down to Malika, who then slid it along the floor until it bumped up against the Luxan's boot. D'argo grunted his thanks as he fired off four more bolts before hearing the telltale click of the empty sword rifle. He closed and slung his blade, then snatched up Chiana's second Pulse gun. John flung a bag of power clips over to the father and son saying, "Make em' last!"   
  
  
  
  
  
The commander of the Palace security forces snapped to attention in front of the Dominar and gave a salute. "Enough of that dren! Just tell me your report," snapped Rygel.  
"My Lord, we believe we have located your comrades. There were reports of pulse fire and an explosion in the apartments. The fighting seems to have moved into the sub-levels as you predicted. The 2nd and 3rd Elite Guard battalions are in route to the location as we speak. I must also report, Dominar... that most of the Elite Guard that was assigned security duty at the apartments have been found dead at their post. However there are also several dead Nebari troops also in the area."  
"Could D'argo and the others have been responsible for the dead Nebari?" asked Rygel.  
"We don't think so, My Lord. We believe 1st Sergeant Rickler is responsible. He has not been accounted for... and a number of the Nebari were killed using a Elite Guard combat style," report the man.  
"Rickler? Rickler? Where have I heard that name before?" Rygel asked himself.  
"Joban Rickler, sir... he's one of the Sebacean refugees brought into the guard. He's a very large man and his daughter Tamilla works here in the Royal palace," filled in the officer.  
"Ah, yes. I remember him now. Do you have an idea of what happened to him after he killed the Nebari?"  
"The evidence suggests that he may have entered the sub-levels to get to the fighting. One of the Nebari we found was just inside a servant entrance," continued the commander.  
"Send in a detachment to follow him now. They will need all the help we can get to them," ordered the Hynerian. The commander saluted and turned on a boot heel to carry out his orders. 


	9. Chapter 8

A piece of masonry shattered next to Berret's head after being hit by a pulse bolt. Sharp hunks of the material spun off, one cutting a small gash into the Shrike's cheek.  
"Ouch!" said Jared. "These guys are really starting to gris me off!" he exclaimed as he ducked his head down further.   
"They're only starting too now?" asked John from the next crate over.  
"Well, the night is young yet," Berret said flippantly as he ejected a smoking power pack from his rifle and slammed home a new one.   
"Less Talk... More Killing!" bellowed D'argo from Crichton's opposite side.  
"You're such a workaholic," mutter the human as he sighted along the rifle and then shot a Nebari trooper who decided to poke his head out at the wrong moment. "How do you suppose Zhaan puts up with his constant complaining?" he turned and asked the Shrike.  
"I would imagine she probably meditates a lot," was the ex-assassin's reply. He picked out several pairs of feet below a raised crate and loosed a burst of bolts in their direction. A microt later he was reward by several cries of pain.  
Ignoring the Luxans growls at their idle chatter, he asked Crichton, "Is it my imagination or does it seem that there are less men over there then earlier?"  
"I dunno... maybe we got more of them then we thought?" he answered with a small shrug.  
"More power packs!" Andar suddenly cried from his position behind one of the taller crates. Like they had practiced the maneuver countless times, Berret saw Jothee toss a pair of charge magazines up to Andar's position. As quick as a snake, the Sebacean man snatched them both out of the air and ducked back under cover before the Nebari's fire could zero in and pin him down.   
  
Stoma split his men up, having them each take a branching hallway back toward the corridor where the battle was taking place. He took the furthest hallway they found and began to work his way toward the sound of gunfire. To his grim satisfaction he emerge back into the corridor well behind the battle zone. The hallway was hidden behind several large crates and pieces of equipment. Apparently the Hynerian was stockpiling various items for the coming conflict with the survivor of the war. He slowly began to move his way forward to the rear of the crewmates' position. He smiled to himself knowing that within microns the troublesome woman would be on her way back to the gentle arms of Nebari society... and the rest of the alien scum would be lying dead at his feet. The first of Stoma's men to exit from a side hallway had the bad luck to do so in the middle of no-man's land. As soon as he step out around a food storage case he was riddled with bolts, most of which came from his own side. The second man pushed his way through a pile of stacked boxes only to find himself staring down the barrel of Jothee's pistol a microt before the half-Luxan youth shot him in the neck.   
"They are trying to come at us through the side hallways!" cried the half Luxan warrior in warning.  
"Dren!" Aeryn cursed. Rising up to one knee, she swept her Heavy Pulse Rifle toward the nearest tunnel-like hallway and unload a full power pack down it in case there were anymore troopers coming through. The heavy recoil from the weapon shook the woman's body as she poured pulse fire into the corridor's opening. Chiana jumped down from behind her crate and dropped beside the Sebacean woman to cover her. The Nebari woman brought her rifle to bear just in time as a Nebari Trooper rose up to take a shot at the kneeling Aeryn. Chiana riddled the man with bolts from her rifle, then ran a line of fire along the cover of several more Nebari soldiers to make them keep their heads down.  
  
Malika jumped up into Chiana's abandoned perch and took over her field of fire. The Delvian ran her Pulse rifle's pack dry and hit the release. The weapon had become too hot from the constant firing and the clip jammed on the way down. She had just reached up and jerked the spent charge pack clear when a noise behind her alerted her to danger. Stoma's third trooper shoved aside a crate and seeing the Delvian, rushed at her. Malika took a step back and had to drop her rifle to defend herself. The Nebari attempted to butt-stroke her with the stock of his rifle but the Pa'u closed with him and gripped the barrel end of the rifle with both hands to keep the man from being able to point it at her. The Trooper tried to jerk his weapon free, but to his shock and surprise, the young Delvian jerked back and bent the barrel almost in two. The Nebari jumped back cursing and threw the useless weapon at the blue woman and whipped out his combat knife. Malika batted the rifle to one side and smiled at the sight of the blade, then she drew her own. The man's jaw dropped as the shining metal blade the Pa'u held turned out to be half again as long as the one he brandished.  
"Mine's bigger that yours," was all she said as the blade began to spin and twirl around her hand. Being behind enemy lines the trooper was now committed, with a snarl he charged the Priestess. Swinging his blade low, he tried to slice into her belly. Malika danced to one side and the knife in her hand sang in a flashing blur. Blue Nebari blood flew through the air and the Trooper found himself with several deep cuts along his forearms, shoulder, ribs and back. He turned again to face Malika who was simply standing behind him idly twirling the large blade in a circle around her hand.  
"Surrender now and you can live," she told him.  
The offered added insult to injury and enraged the Nebari. He replied by screaming and rushing at the Delvian with his knife raise over his head. Malika met his headlong charge by slicing through the man's stomach and opening up several other major blood vessels along his limbs. He staggered to a halt as the massive damage and loss of blood pressure from the wounds registered on his nervous system. Malika was behind him in an eye blink and cut his throat.   
"I'm sorry it had to be this way," she said as she quickly cleaned off her blade before sheathing it. She darted back to her position and picked up her empty Pulse rifle. She muttered a quick prayer to the Goddess for the Nebari's soul as she reloaded.  
  
Joban had finally arrived at the scene of the combat and he crawled his way over the last short distance of the hallway until he was able to view the battlefield. He smiled to himself as he realized that he couldn't have planned his position better. Across from him he could see the black uniforms of the Nebari crouching down behind their barricades. Settling himself behind the largest metal cases he could find, he eased the muzzle of his rifle over the top. Flicking on the optics, he brought the first Nebari into the crosshairs of the sights.  
"Like shootin' Traskfish in a breeding decanter," he murmured as he smoothly stroked the trigger. Moving to the next target, he repeated the operation. Seeing two of the invaders suddenly jerk and fall over from pulse bolts coming from their flank, Crichton let out a cheer.   
"Yaw-Hoo! The cavalry has arrived! Rygel's boys are here!" he called.  
The Nebari now had to split their forces and deal with the attack from their rear flank. They began to pour pulse bolts into the shadow-covered hallway the new attack had come from.  
"I don't think so, Uncle John," called Jothee who was in better position to see. "There only seems to be one person shooting from over there."  
"Who cares!" said John after a microt, "Thanks to whoever that is the odds in our favor just went up."  
Having caught the end of the knife fight, he looked back at Malika and asked, "Everything all right back there?"  
Giving a cough as she waved away the smoke of burnt Chakan Oil from her rifle, Malika gave him the thumbs up signal she'd so often seen him use. Turning back to his Pulse rifle he squeezed off a couple more rounds in the Nebari's direction. "Things are lookin' up," he said  
  
Stoma had crept close enough now to witness the deadly knife duel between the Delvian bitch and his Trooper. Microts later someone opened fire behind his men's lines and more of his troopers started to die. Encourage now by the unexpected help, the Hynerian's friends began to fight back harder. The Nebari woman had moved up to the front line and there was no way he could get his hands on her now. His men all but defeated, he decide the best course of action for him now would be to withdraw and leave the battle field while he still had his life. Silently cursing, he backed away and tried to think of how he was going to get out of the palace grounds undetected. As if in answer there was a noise from some nearby crates. Freezing in place, Stoma saw the bald blue head of the second Delvian bitch poke out from behind the metal cases. Changing his course, he crept in her direction. He had been wondering where the brats had been hiding; now he believed he had the answer to that question and his dilemma. He slid closer to the cases and peeked over the top of one. The Delvian had her back to him, peering around the edge of the opposite crate at the battle. Besides her were the two Sebacean brats. Leaning farther over the rim he saw the two half-breeds right on the opposite site of the crate he was at. He smiled, now he knew how he would make it out of there.  
  
The pulse fire from the hallway flanking the Nebari Troop slowly died down. The crewmates were beginning to wonder if the tide of battle was turning back into the invaders' favor when all of a sudden armored shock troopers with the Royal Hynerian Crest on their breastplates burst into the room from hallways on all sides of the Nebari. Pulse bolts crisscrossed their lines, chewing up everything in the line of fire. The companions let out a cheer all at the same time as the Nebari either fell over dead or dropped their weapons in surrender. Rygel's men went from man to man taking them prisoner or making sure they were really dead. The officer in command headed over toward the crew's direction.   
"Ambassador Crichton! Are you all right?" he called to them.   
John waved to the man as he stood up from behind the crate he'd been using for cover.   
"We're a little banged up but mostly we're okay," he replied turning around to look at the others as they climbed out of their hiding places. Berret stood and shook dust from his long hair, the cut on his cheek already healing. He made his way over to Chiana, anxiously looking her over to assure himself that she was unharmed. The Nebari woman was just as dust covered as the Shrike and she seemed to be appraising his well-being with as much intensity as he was hers.   
"Oh, man! Were we lucky," said Crichton as Malika and Andar appeared out of the settling dust and made their way over to join the group, realizing that miraculously, no one on their side had sustained any major injuries in the fighting. An Elite Guard came over and reported to the commanding officer that they had taken four Nebari prisoners alive and two wounded, when there was a childish scream from the rear of crewmates' position.  
  
"The children!" cried Aeryn as the group moved as one in the direction of the children's hide-a-way.  
Andrea and Missy came running toward them and straight into Aeryn and John's arms. Chulee came darting out in front of a staggering and bleeding Zhaan, and leaped crying into her mother's opened arms. Malika and D'argo caught Zhaan as she pitched forward, blood seeping from a head wound.  
"Get my bag!" Malika shouted to Andar as Chiana and Berret started calling out for Jalen.   
Zhaan waved her help off, "He took him! He took Jalen!" she shouted over the others, trying to be heard through their excited cries.  
"Who took him!" asked D'argo.  
"The Nebari... he came up behind us and struck me with his rifle. Then he grabbed Jalen and ran into one of the side hallways," the Delvian said and pointed the way they went, obviously fighting her pain to stay conscious. "I'm so sorry, Chiana... Jared," she finished.   
Chiana clutched the crying Chulee to her while looking wildly around her, "Jalen! Jalen!" she called.   
Berret took her by the shoulder's trying to calm her, but he found he was starting to panic himself.  
"He took my baby!" his wife looked in his eyes and cried to him. "He took our baby!"  
"I'll find him, Chiana... I will find him," he vowed to her. He snatched up the nearest Pulse rifle.  
"Stay with Chulee!" he said to her as he took off at a dead run for the hallway that Zhaan had indicated, ignoring the calls from the others to wait for them while they hurriedly tried to gather weapons and any power packs that still held a charge.  
  
In the dim hallway the Shrike's eyes took on their silver sheen, allowing him to see almost as if in broad daylight. His hearing seem to sharpen as the microbes fine-tuned his senses, making him the perfect hunter. He paused a short ways into the hallway to listen. He thought he could make out heavy breathing coming from somewhere ahead of him. He looked down to check the charge in the rifle and found that he'd picked up an empty one. He dropped the useless gun, not caring because he still had the pistol and combat knife with him... and also because he was a living weapon. The clatter of the weapon hitting the floor seemed to alert the person ahead of him in the hallway because Berret could now hear footsteps in the distance. The Shrike was now sure where his target was and he picked up his own pace. Even in Peacekeeper issue boots his footfalls were light and almost totally silent. Keeping to the shadows as much as possible, Berret moved quickly when the target moved and slowed to a creeping walk when the target stopped to listen to its back trail. At one point Berret heard Jalen's muffled cry and thanked the Goddess that his son was still alive. The target changed hallways and corridors trying to lose any pursuit in the maze-like sub-levels. The ex-assassin steadily closed with the Nebari and his son, turning corners only microts behind them.  
  
"Damn it!" exclaimed Crichton as he bent to pick up the discarded rifle. Checking the power gage he turned to Aeryn and Andar, "He picked up a spent one." Looking forward to D'argo and Jothee who were crouched down on guard further along the hall, he asked, "Which way, D'argo?"  
D'argo tested the air, his nostrils flaring, "Straight ahead... Jalen and Jared came this way."  
"And the Nebari," added Jothee with a grim look.  
"Let's get moving then, they have too much of a head start and there still maybe some Nebari stragglers that haven't been rounded up yet left," said Aeryn.   
The Luxan sped down the hall armed with a charged Pulse pistol he'd managed to find in one huge hand and his heavy Qualta blade in the other. He followed the scent trail through winding and twist corridors, his son armed with a Pulse rifle guarding his back. Crichton and Aeryn followed close behind while Andar watched their back trail and used a luminescent marking gun to tag their route through the hallways for Zhaan and Malika to follow behind them. The two Delvians having lagged behind to ensure that the frantic Chiana didn't rush off with little Chulee still in her arms to search for her hostage son. Aeryn had cursed angrily that no one was able to restrain the Shrike from rushing off alone in pursuit of his son. Knowing from her training and experience that a cool head was needed in such situations and not the rashness of a frantic parent.  
  
Stoma was breathing heavy from having to carry the boy, so he stopped to rest and set the boy down for a microt. He'd much rather shoot the brat now, but the little half-breed was his safe passage out of this frelled up operation. Inwardly he cursed his patron, Hyril. The little tralk that was this abomination's mother couldn't possibly have been involved in the project that the Nebari government was attempting to keep secret. The little bitch should have died cycles ago, long before she could have bared children if she was a carrier of the contagion. It probably just offended Hyril's prissy sensibilities to have seen her mated to another species, so now his entire shock-troop was either dead or captured because the Abettor got his nose bent out of joint.  
"Who cares who the tralk frelled!" he growled out loud.  
The boy whimpered at the menacing tone in the Nebari Captain's voice. Stoma reached out and slapped the boy across the face, knocking him to the ground, "Be quiet I told you!" he snarled at the child.  
Instead of cringing, the abuse seemed to harden the boy. He stared defiantly up at the man with those strange blue eyes.   
"My father will kill you for that," the boy almost hissed.  
Stoma by then had convinced himself that one man can not have taken out his highly trained scouts and that they must have been ambushed by a superior number of attackers. He'd witnessed nothing special about the three Sebacean men at the firefight in the corridor while he was at the scene of battle.  
The Captain found himself amused at the half-breed's bravado.  
"My father has killed many bad men like you," the boy almost spat at him.   
"Your father can do nothing," Stoma told him. "He's just another Sebacean man, and many Sebacean men on guard duty tonight died at our hands without making so much as a whimper."  
"My Dad isn't a Sebacean, he's a Shrike!" said Jalen almost bragging, hopeing to put fear in the heart of his captor. Despite himself and to Jalen's despair, Stoma burst out laughing,   
"Fairy tales!" he finally said. "Shrikes are nothing but legend. You probably don't even know what a Shrike is, boy!" he said in contempt.  
Jalen was starting to lose more his self-confidence with trying to threaten the man.   
"I do so," he said, his voice growing quieter. "The Scarrens made him that way," he finished as his voice died totally  
The mention of the Scarrens brought the Nebari up short. There had been rumors about the Scarren underworld using enforcers and assassins they called Shrikes, the original name coming from a cult of Warrior / Spy / Assassins that supposedly existed thousands of cycles ago. These modern day Shrikes were nothing more then simple killers, some where even said to be slaves that have undergone a process more mind wiping then mental cleansing to make them loyal and obedient without a microt's doubt.  
If the boy meant his father was one of these Scarren assassins, he just might be telling the truth.  
Stoma grabbed the half-breed and yanked him in close to him, "Do you mean your father works for one of the Scarren Syndicates?" he demanded. "Speak boy, before I backhand your sorry half-breed face again!" Stoma almost screamed while shaking the boy's small body.   
"N-No! " said the terrified Jalen, "He got away from them." The boy finished while fresh tears started to form again in his eyes as his courage left him.  
Relieved, Stoma stopped shaking the boy. "Nobody leaves the Syndicates and lives to tell about it. Your father is lying to you. There is no way he can be one of their killers."  
"You're about to find out," said a cold voice from somewhere in the room's shadows.  
  
Malika managed to dress Zhaan's head wound while at the same time the Delvian women also managed to keep the distraught Chiana from running off after the others. They were trying to convince the Nebari woman to stay behind and tend to her daughter and Aeryn and John's children, but Chiana wouldn't hear of it. They were explaining to her that someone had to stay and look after the offspring of Moya's crew when a large Guardsman, heavily wrapped in bandages, limped over and cut into the discussion.   
"I'll watch the little ones for you, Lady Chiana," the man said.  
"Joban!" Chiana cried as she saw the man. "You're alive, we thought you might have...." she cut off not wanting to admit they thought him dead with the other grounds security.  
"Aye, Lady. It wasn't for lack of them trying," he said gesturing to the hallway were the first volley of bolts had come from that turned the course of the desperate battle.  
"That was you?" asked Malika.   
The guardsman made a slight bow of respect as he answered, "Yes, it was Pa'u Malika."   
"You have our eternal gratitude, 1st Sergeant," said Zhaan as she waved a hand in blessing.  
"Thank you Pa'u Zhaan," Joban said, stiffly attempting another bow.  
"Joban, they took Jalen. Please get the Guard together and go after him and the others," Chiana begged, not able to hold off asking any longer and desperate for something more to be done to find her son.  
"I heard about the Lad being taken and the Guard is gearing up to follow your husband and the rest even as we speak," said the big Sebacean trying to reassure her. "I would have already been on the way... but I'm afraid I would only be in the way in my present useless condition," he said obviously feeling like he had failed her.  
Chiana was touched by the admission. "I know you would be, Joban. You're a brave man," she told him touching his arm.  
"But I am able to take care of the little ones while you join your husband. That much I can and will do for you, My Lady," Joban said.   
Zhaan and Malika gave him a look over Chiana's shoulder that said he'd just undermined everything they tried to do to keep the woman away from the search, but he wasn't deterred from doing what he felt as a parent was right. Speaking mostly to the two Delvians he said,  
"A parent's place is with their children in times of danger. I know how I would feel if it was one of my daughters. A Phalanx of Luxan Berserkers would not stop me from going to her."   
Chiana thanked him again and handed Chulee over to the big sergeant, surprisingly the little girl went willingly to the wounded man, instinctively trusting him. Seeing their friend trusting the man, Missy and Andrea needed little reassuring to release Zhaan and Malika's robes and place themselves in his care. The three women gathered their gear and started off after the rest of the crew.   
"Goddess Bless, and may they find him safe," murmured Joban to their departing backs. He turned to the tearstained children gathered around him. "Now, what do you young ladies say about helping a helpless old farmer back to his home. I believe there may be some good dresses and some old toys of my little girls' left that might need someone to play with them," he offered as he lead them away from the scene of the battle. 


	10. Chapter 9

While D'argo and the others had to follow the trail by slowly tracking scents, the three women were able to cover more ground and catch up quickly following Andar's trail markings. When they joined up, the more skilled members at tracking and stalking went ahead first leaving Chiana to follow behind with the Priestesses and Andar. Even though she ached to charge ahead to find Jalen, at least the others had stopped trying to talk her into staying behind and letting them handle the situation. Inside she understood their reasoning and she knew that if they had been able, they would have made Jared remain behind also if he hadn't left so fast before they could stop him. In the lead, D'argo suddenly stopped and held up a hand demanding silence. The Luxan closed his eyes and tilted his head from side to side.   
"Voices... coming from up ahead," he finally said to the others.  
Chiana started to push her way forward through the rest of the group, but was stopped by Aeryn's strong hand.   
"Hold up a micron!" the ex-Peacekeeper hissed. "I know you're worried but if you go losing your frelling head now, your son... and Berret may die."   
Chiana cocked her head ready to stubbornly start arguing with the woman but Aeryn cut her off before she had the chance. "We don't know what's going on up there. Let D'argo, Jothee, and John go in first. Andar and I will cover them while Zhaan and Malika get ready to go in, in case there is wounded. You stay here with them until its safe." Aeryn looked her hard in the eyes.  
"Chiana, you have to trust us. You know I'm right about this," she finished, her tone soften as she knew she was getting through to the Nebari. Chiana's look became less frantic and more of helpless worry as Aeryn spoke; she finally nodded her head in agreement, and with a pleading look asked,  
"Please get them out, Aeryn."  
  
The Nebari was too close to Jalen so Berret left his Pulse pistol holstered as he stepped out of the shadows.  
Captain Stoma clutched Jalen to his chest and leveled his Pulse pistol at boy's father. When it seemed the man was going to ignore the threat of the gun and rush forward anyway, Stoma redirected the muzzle of his weapon until in was press up against the boy's temple. That tactic halted the advancing man in his tracks.  
"I see that there is something here you care about. I was wondering which one you were," Stoma said, then as Berret made to take another step closer he twisted the barrel harder against the Jalen's flesh, making the boy wince.   
"Ah!" he warned. "Not another frelling step closer. Lose the gun belt," ordered the Nebari Officer.  
Berret froze in place again and hit the release for his pistol belt. The pistol hit the floor and the Nebari next ordered him to kick it away and to lock the heavy metal door behind him.  
"It's over, let him go. I only want my son back," Berret told the man after he did what he was told.  
Stoma gave a low humorless laugh, "It's never over, not while those that oppose us have a weak point.  
I'm almost impressed; I didn't even hear you come in. I have to say I'm surprised a Syndicate assassin would have time or even care enough to raise a family. They can be just such a exploitable... weakness."  
Without warning the Nebari shoved Jalen towards his father. For Berret, everything went into slow motion as the event unfolded. Before the boy covered half the distance to his father, Berret saw Stoma smile and raise his pistol, pointing it at the running boy's back. The weapon barked and spat its blue pulse bolt just as Berret was able to react.   
"No!" his cry sounded long and drawn out to him as he started to move forward toward his son.  
To Berret's horror he saw the bolt strike his son in the back and exit out his chest. Jalen stumbled from the impact, a stunned look of pain and surprise on his young face as his knees gave way and he started to collapse to the ground.   
"Jalen!" Berret cried out as he managed to reach his son and catch him before he hit the cold floor.  
  
Berret gathered his son into his arms and cradled him. His entire world having shrunk to the small battered body in his arms, he no longer cared that his enemy was now standing somewhere out of sight behind his back.  
"Jalen?" he asked, begging his son to speak as he brushed the boy's sweaty hair out from in front of his eyes. The boy looked up at his father, his eyes filled with pain and confusion.   
"D-Dad-dy?" he tried to get out through a mouth that had began to fill with dark purple blood.   
"Shhhh... shhhhh.... It's all right, Baby. Don't try and talk," Berret said trying to sound strong and confident to comfort his child, but his voice broke despite his effort.  
"You'll be alright, just hold on," he told him over and over again, rocking the dying child. Jalen looked up tried to touch the tears running down his father's face.  
"Mom-my...." he said slowly closing his eyes, going limp and still in his father's arms.  
Berret's grief overcame him as he hugged his son's body tightly to him, his forehead press against his son's. Great sobs racking his body. He no longer cared about the man behind him even when he walked up and stood over him.  
  
"You see, love can be a weakness... in your case it was fatal. In the new Nebari Order, such weakness will not exist," lectured Stoma, before taking a step backwards and pointing his pistol at the back of Berret's head. "Good bye, Shrike. It was better this way. The boy didn't have a place in the coming order anyway," he said and started to put pressure on the trigger.  
Berret waited for death, no longer caring to live after helplessly watching his child die in his arms. He closed his eyes and whispered to his son, "It's okay, Daddy's coming."  
There was a loud bang and crash as the door was blown off its hinges, followed by a pulse bolt. Three more bolts followed in quick secession and the sound of a body hitting the floor. Heavy footfalls pounded pass the Shrike and then Crichton's voice filled the room.   
"J.B.! Are you all... OH, GOD! No!" he said as he saw the scene.  
Berret looked up from Jalen's body. Crichton filled the doorway for a microt and then was roughly pushed aside by Zhaan and Malika. Aeryn and Andar stood watch in the hallway, Pulse rifles held at the ready. The Delvians rushed to the pair on the floor.  
"Let me see him!" demanded Zhaan in a shout, trying to get through Berret's shock and grief. Malika helped her by prying his hands from their death grip on the small form. Once free they moved Jalen over to where they had room to work on him. In a daze, Berret looked behind him and saw D'argo and Jothee standing over the still living, but wounded Stoma. D'argo towered over the Nebari man, one massive boot pining the man to the floor and the blade of his Qualta sword almost piercing the man under his chin.  
"Go ahead and blink!" growled the Luxan in pure hate. Beside him Jothee stood covering the man with his Pulse rifle, the look of enraged hatred on his young face matching his father's.  
  
Crichton was saying something to him, but Berret really wasn't listening. The vision of Jalen being shot and falling played over and over again in his mind. There was a commotion coming from the hallway. Aeryn and Chiana's voices drifted into the room as Aeryn tried to keep her from entering.  
"Let me go!" the Nebari woman demanded. "Jalen! Jared! Where are they? I want to see them!"   
Aeryn not being able to hold the frantic woman and her Pulse rifle at the ready, lost her grip on Chiana's twisting arm. Chiana pushed her way into the room before anyone else could stop her.  
"Jalen?" she called and stopped dead in mid-stride as she saw the two Delvian women bent over the small body, the dark purple blood of her offspring on the floor told her the rest of the story.   
"No! Jalen!" she screamed, attempting to go to him. Crichton holstered his pistol and caught the woman before she could make it over to the group. Bodily picking her up off her feet at times, he dragged her struggling back over to the doorway, trying his best to calm her and keep her out of the Delvians' way. Aeryn left Andar to guard the door and went to help her husband. Chiana sobbed, begging and pleading with her friends to let her go to her son until no longer able to stand, she slid to the floor. John hugged her tightly to him as she sobbed uncontrollably against his chest.  
  
Numbly, Berret regained his feet and stumbled over to the Priestesses. Zhaan looked up at his approach, the tears welling up in her blue eyes told him the dire news.  
Against all hope he begged, "Help him, Zhaan. Please!"  
She reached out to him, her own heart breaking and her own pain forgotten, "We're trying, Jared. We're doing all we can."  
Beside her Malika fought her own sobs and wiped away tears that were only replaced by fresh ones as she worked over the small body. Berret knees gave out on him and he dropped straight to the floor besides his son as the reality of his what had happened hit him again. Chiana had curled into a sobbing ball on Aeryn's lap, Crichton was kneeling beside her quietly talking in a low reassuring tone while stroking her back. During that time, D'argo and Jothee had bound Stoma's hands and feet together. Both Luxan father and son stood nearby on guard... the true horror of the situation sinking in but having to put their grief and worry aside until everyone was safe. Andar in the doorway was doing his best to follow their example. Stoma seemed lifted by the group's heartache, and most especially by Chiana's anguish.  
"You see what happens to little Tralks that frell alien scum and bear half-breeds! You will all learn that the Nebari way is the only true way!" he crowed.  
John's voice turned cold and deadly, "What did you say?" he demanded as he turned toward him.  
"I said the frelling Tralk and half-breed got what they deserved!" Stoma sneered at the human.  
In an uncharacteristic blind rage, John was on his feet in an instant and stormed over to the Nebari Officer.  
The man was about to say something else to taunt the man, when John's booted foot smashed into his face, knocking him backwards and sending teeth and blood flying.  
"You f**king child murdering bastard!" screamed Crichton. His foot landing several more blows into the man's ribcage before Jothee and D'argo could drag him away. "You son of a bitch! I'll kill you myself!" raged John as he went for his pistol. His hand met empty air in his holster as D'argo had wisely thought of removing the weapon from the enraged man just microts before as they pulled him off the Nebari captain.  
  
"Easy John!" rumbled the Luxan, "We may yet kill him, but now is not the time or place."  
Crichton realized that his Luxan friend was curbing his own urge to execute the madman.   
"All right, D'argo. We'll do it your way for now," relented Crichton. Shaking himself to get his self-control back as father and son released him. "But gag that bastard so we don't have to listen to his frelling mouth." D'argo nodded to his son, who found a rag to make a gag out of. The young warrior being none too gentle as he forced the dirty clothe into Stoma's mouth and tied it tightly behind his head.   
"I hope you choke on it," hissed the young half Luxan, his eyes bright with barely leashed anger.  
Berret watched this transpire as if it were happening to someone else. Looking over at his wife, he found her watching him with pain filled eyes. She held his gaze for a few microts, "Where were you?" they accused him before she turned away, burying her head back in Aeryn's arms and weeping anew. Berret hung his head.   
"It's all my fault," he said to himself. Repeating the phrase over and over again in his head. More tears of his own beginning to fall. With the pounding of armored shod footfalls, Rygel's Guard arrived and began to fill the room. The Luxans turned their prisoner over to them, advising that it be best if the Nebari was removed to a cell before Crichton became enraged again or worse yet, the Shrike or Chiana recovered from their shock. Aeryn placed Chiana's weapon off to one side in case the woman decided to take revenge against the prisoner, but the Nebari only had tear-filled eyes for her son and ignored the man being taken out. A few microts later Zhaan turned to the nearest guard and ordered,   
"Get a stretcher here now and inform the Med-quarters of the emergency!" She grabbed an offered Med-pack from a field medic and began to tear it open.   
"He still lives, but barely.... and we are losing him!"  
  
The crewmates sat around the waiting area at the Med-quarters of Rygel's huge government complex located near the Palace. It was fortunate that the room the tragedy took place in was near an outside wall of the Palace. After the stretcher was bought in, the Elite guard used a controlled explosion to create an opening up and into the exterior wall. Jalen was taken through the opening to a waiting air ambulance and air lifted to the Med-quarters instead of wasting valuable time in having to take the seriously wounded child back through the maze of corridors. The boy was wheeled directly into operating room, the Delvian women at his side the whole time and the only members of the crew allowed to remain as they were assisting and guiding the medical personnel through Jalen's unique Nebari/Human physiology. Chiana and Berret were ushered off immediately to donate blood for their son, even though there was a risk of passing on the illegal microbe technology from father to son. The Med-staff did their best to run the donated human blood through several filters before fusing it with Chiana's. Half an arn later Crichton was called upon to donate some of his for plasma, Sebacean blood or plasma not being compatible for the boy. Rygel arrived just as John was being lead away to a room for the procedure and ordered that donations be taken from the Nebari prisoners, by force if necessary.  
  
Berret had insisted they take almost twice the amount of blood from his veins as was normal, trusting the same microbes that had to be filtered out to replace it as quickly as possible. Chiana had given half again the normal amount and was feeling faint not having the microbes to fall back on but still on her feet waiting for news. Berret approached the woman from behind as she started out one of the windows at the sunrise.  
He expected his wife would turn on him in a rage for letting their son come to harm. Instead, instinctively knowing he was there without turning to look, she leaned back against him. Berret folded his arms around her and together they watched the sun rise on Hyneria.   
A few microns later he whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry."   
Chiana rubbed his forearms idly and shook her head, "It's not your fault. You did the best you could."  
"My best wasn't good enough to save him," answered Berret.  
Chiana turned her head so she could look up at him; her eyes still bloodshot blue from her earlier weeping.   
"There's no news yet, so that means he's still fighting. We can't give up hope if he won't... so don't talk like he's already gone." She touched his cheek to make him hold her gaze. "There is nothing different you or I could have done to change what happened... now we pray to the Goddess and hope she hears our prayers."  
She swayed a little bit from the blood loss and Berret tightened his hold to support her. Chiana would have let the Med-techs bleed her dry if they hadn't refused to remove any more of her blood. His wife had taken a much bigger risk donating so much blood without the microbes as a failsafe. He kissed the top of the courageous woman's head and then rubbed his cheek against hers in Nebari affection.   
"Yes, you're right. He is a fighter... like his mother," he murmured to her.  
  
After what seemed an eternity the crew had either nodded off or where half dozing in their seats. Rygel floated in the middle of the room on his thronesled, lightly snoring. The only fully alert beings in the area were the members of the Elite Guard standing watch over the crewmates. The swinging door to the O.R. opened and an exhausted Zhaan and Malika stepped out. The crew was instantly awake as the Delvians appeared and all speaking at once. Zhaan loosened her surgical gown as she tried to wave for them to settle down.  
"QUIET!" the Luxan roared. The shout stunned the over-tired companions into silence. D'argo then nodded for Chiana to speak first.   
"How is he Zhaan? Will he live? Is my Baby gonna be alright?" Chiana would have kept rapidly asking the same question over in a number of different ways if Berret hadn't stopped her from going on.   
"He is doing better then we expected but he's not in the clear yet," said the Delvian, the tired bags under her eyes testament to the long arns spent standing in surgery. During that time, someone had changed the dressing on her head wound. It amazed Berret that she was still on her feet at all.   
"Jalen is still being purposely kept in a coma induced state. The damage to his internal organs was quite extensive and required massive amount of reconstructive surgery. However the blood and plasma you all donated went a long way in helping."  
Zhaan turned to Rygel and asked, "Where did you find all the Nebari plasma?"   
The Hynerians ears and eyebrows lifted in a smirk. "Let's just say that we found some volunteers who were more that happy to give what they could."   
The Delvian was too tired to go into further detail about the source. "What ever you did Rygel, Thank you... and to you also John. Your blood plasma was badly needed."   
Chiana hugged the Priestess. "It's Jared and me who thank you the most," she said, "and Malika of course." Chiana began looking around for the younger Priestess, but didn't see her. A microt later everyone else started scanning the room until a small murmur directed their attention to a back corner of the waiting area. Malika sat curled up in a large chair, still in her surgical gown, peacefully asleep.  
  
Crichton went and got something hot for Zhaan to drink. D'argo made room for the tired Delvian to sit down on the room's sofa. Sighing with the pleasure of removing her weight from her feet, she went into further detail about the operation and it's outlook. Despite Zhaan's insistence that Jalen had a long way to go if he recovered, Chiana looked optimistic and for that alone Berret was grateful after the long arns of misery his wife had endured. After a few microns, Berret wandered over to a corner and keyed his comm.  
"Pilot?" he asked.   
"I'm here, Jared. What word on Jalen?" Pilot asked right away, the worry prominent in his voice.  
"Zhaan and Malika have just come out of surgery. Jalen still lives and is doing better then expected."  
Berret started filling Pilot and Moya in on as many details as he was able. Both Pilot and Leviathan were concerned about his son. Rygel had reported that when they heard the news of the boy's wounding by the Nebari that Moya's distress was so great that she was jamming many of the communication bands around Hyneria with her cries of mourning. Like the rest of the crew, Moya and her pilot considered all the children born to the group as their own. Pilot once explaining that Moya viewed the children no different then she did Talyn. Berret felt a pain of guilt for not having considered the whole group's feeling as they have all help raise his children as much as Chiana and himself.   
"Moya and I are relieved to hear that young Jalen is still with us. Moya has been offering prayers up to her Creators on his behalf," Pilot told him.  
"Please give Moya... and yourself, Chiana and my thanks and love, Pilot, " said Berret. "Now if you will, my friend. I need you to do something for me," the Shrike asked.  
"Of course, Jared," Pilot replied.  
  
During the long course of the day, Chiana and Berret arranged to stay at the Med-quarters to watch over Jalen even though Zhaan said it might be several solar days before they would attempt to bring him out of the induced coma. They send a message to Joban's home that John and Aeryn would be by to take Chulee home with them when the picked up Andrea and Missy. If it weren't for the tubes and machines connected to their son, Jalen would almost appear to be sleeping. Chiana moved the other bed in the room over to be close to her son. The Nebari woman lay down next to him, her small hand holding one of his even smaller ones. Berret sat quietly in a chair next to the two until his exhausted wife soon fell into her own deep sleep. Berret watched them slumber for a few microns and then silently rose. He smoothed the wild Nebari hair on his son's head and bent to kiss his forehead. His wife stirred in her sleep as he stood over her, committing her face to his memory, he bent a second time to kiss her cheek and paused to inhale her scent.   
"Forgive me," he said almost inaudibly. Raising, he quietly left the room, stopping only long enough to assure that the man Joban had hand-picked to stand guard over Jalen was still on duty. Once outside the Med-center Berret keyed his comm,  
"Pilot has everything been prepared?" he asked.  
"Yes. All is as you requested, Jared," replied Moya's helmsman.  
"Thank you," he said simply, then keyed the comm over to another channel and spoke a string of code words. Closing the channel he started to jog toward the Palace landing pad.  
  
A third of an arn later, Berret arrived at the gates of the Landing Port. He passed through them and headed for a secluded section of the area. Microns later found him standing in front of the shadowy shape of the newly refitted Wraith. The data collecting scanning panels that also served the craft as wings folded up and back so the ship could perch on it's three landing struts, the engines ticking as they cooled. Berret walked over to the hatchway and slapped his palm against the access pad. In response the hatch cycled open allowing the Shrike to enter. On the floor in the middle of the operations station was his armor. Pilot having had the DRD's bring it from his apartments and place it aboard the Wraith before it departed. Berret stripped off his clothes and donned the ballistic suit; even after almost ten cycles it still fit him like a second skin. While he was strapping and buckling on the armor plates he asked the AI system aboard the scout ship,   
"Wraith, status?"   
"Upgrades to stealth systems online and functioning. Weapon's systems fully charged and armed. Craft is currently under full stealth status and has not been detected by planetary defenses," said the metallic voice.  
Berret had just finished putting on his second gauntlet when a voice behind him said,   
"I wouldn't say it has totally avoided detection."  
  
Berret snapped his head around to see D'argo filling the hatchway. The Luxan's Qualta blade resting point downward on the Wraith's deck, both huge hands resting on its pommel.   
"You don't think you're going to do this alone, do you?" his rough voice asked.  
"How did you know?" asked Berret. The Luxan held up one finger.  
"One, It's what I would do. Two..." he said tapping the finger against his ear, "While the Wraith can avoid electronic detection, it's braking thrusters are still recognizable to someone who has served with many different kinds of warships. When I heard it land, I knew you'd called for it and where going after that Hyril fellow."  
"I see," said the Shrike. "But this is something I must do alone."  
D'argo flared at the statement, "I will not let you go by yourself! My honor... Luxan Honor, will not permit a battle-comrade to go into combat unaided while a warrior still had strength in his fingers to grip a sword."  
D'argo proudly pulled himself up to his full height, thinking he had the Shrike beat with his logic and reasoning.  
"I notice Jothee isn't with you.... what about his Luxan Honor?" the man asked him.   
D'argo let out a curse. "That is not the same thing!" he spat, not willing to admit he'd purposely left his son behind.   
"Since you seem set on quoting Luxan Codes of Honor to me, then I invoke the ritual 'Czar't tal'Vorn', The Blood Vendetta," said Berret.  
"You are not Luxan!" D'argo bellowed, not expecting to have his own customs thrown back at him.  
"But I am your friend... and you will honor me and my son," replied the Shrike. D'argo uttered a string of curses again, this time using words that not even Berret had heard before. Not having any choice now but to accept the situation he had created.  
"Do you know what you are doing? Its still not a good idea to do this yourself," The Luxan tried to reason with him, hoping he'd change his mind.  
Berret shook his head, "At this point I'm flying by the seat of my pants as John likes to says. I know you are far from being a coward Ka'D'Argo, and I appreciate the honor of your offer to fight at my side. But I caused this situation and it is up to me to settle it with the Nebari. I do ask according to the Blood Vendetta, that should I fail... that at some point in the future, you avenge me."  
D'argo looked at Berret for a few microts, then shaking his head said, "I should never have told you about Luxan culture and custom." Then getting serious he continued, holding up his Qualta Blade with the point pointing downward.  
"It shall be done, should you fall in battle... your honor becomes mine," he ritually vowed.  
Berret nodded in thanks to the warrior, after a few microts he said,   
"You and I have come along way, D'argo."   
"That we have," affirmed the Luxan, both remembering the cycles of distrust between them. "You know Chiana's going to have both our hides for this," comment the warrior.  
The Luxan turned to leave the Wraith and Berret asked him one more favor. "D'argo!" he called.   
The Luxan stopped just as he was ducking his head to clear the hatch.   
"Asking as a friend. If this goes wrong and I don't come back.... take care of my family for me."  
"You know you don't even have to ask," the Luxan replied.  
Berret nodded. "Thank you... for everything," he said.  
"Kill the bastard," said D'argo and then he was gone. 


	11. Chapter 10

Rygel had told them during their vigil in the Med-quarter's waiting area that Stoma had revealed that Hyril had a safe house somewhere in the Hynerian wilderness, far from the population centers. The safe house was provided to Hyril by the government of Nebari Prime, using several false fronts to purchase it. The Dominar smiled as he told them that the information had only cost Stoma three broken fingers. It seemed the Captain was much better at inflicting pain on others then suffering with it himself. Berret linked the Wraith's AI with the Hyneria Central Information Computer and fed in the information. Tracing the data-trail he soon had a location for the safe house. He took the Wraith into low orbit above the coordinates. The wings extended, the scanning surfaces on their undersides soon began to transmit information to the Operations station. Berret activated the holo-imager and the picture of a single level building surrounded by woodland area appeared. A lone air schooner was parked in front of the building. Switching the scans over to another spectrum, he found that there were an additional three levels to the house below ground and a parabolic communication disk hidden further up into the woods. Keying into the next spectrum Berret found that the building was inhabited by eleven life forms... all Nebari.  
"Wraith, where is that communication disk transmitting to?" he asked the AI  
"The disk is data linked to a Nebari Hostship in a parking orbit over the planet. No transmissions currently active at this time," said the machine voice.  
"Prepare to disrupted the link on my command," Berret ordered.  
"Ready to execute protocol on command," came the machine's reply.  
Berret returned to the pilot's seat and plunged the Wraith in a steep dive toward the planet.  
  
"Get my bags aboard the Schooner immediately!" Hyril ordered his frumpy new Valet "We are leaving Hyneria within the arn!"  
"Right away, Abettor Hyril," replied the man, pausing to fumble with straightening his wrinkled house jacket before picking up the luggage.   
"Sometime this day, you frelling idiot!" snapped Hyril as he slapped the man in the back of his head.   
"Y-y-yes... of course, A-Abettor. Right away," the man stuttered, bending to pick up the baggage.   
"Frelling Goddess! Where did they ever find me such a stupid fopooter? I really cannot wait until my regular Valet returns from sick leave," complained the Nebari Official. He turned his attention to the Nebari soldier in the room with them, "Trooper Foram... has the safe house been secured and has the Hostship been notified to expect our arrival?" he asked. The trooper came almost to ridged attention.   
"The men have been deployed and the ship has been alerted, Abettor," he reported.   
"Good!" said Hyril, "I certainly hope your men are better trained and prepared then those frell-ups of Stoma's were."  
Hyril silently cursed the Captain. The mission frelled up, he was certainly dead or captured. Hyril planned to be off the planet well before the Hynerian authorities showed up to take him into custody. The though of spending any time in an alien prison sent a shiver up the man's spine. And prison was where he was sure he was headed after attacking the royal palace, diplomat or no diplomat. As far as he was concerned, Ambassador Lerris could take the blame all for himself and grace the inside of a Hynerian jail.  
  
The Wraith set down in front of the Schooner in a cloud of dust and flying debris kicked up by the angled engines. Berret checked his two Pulse pistols one last time before sliding them into his thigh holsters.   
"Wraith, jam communications," he ordered as he hit the switch for the rapid deployment hatch in the craft's belly.   
"Acknowledged," said the AI. "Four life form readings converging on a forward vector and closing," the artificial intelligence went on to report.   
Berret pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head to help camouflage him in the dim light of the wilderness. He dropped through the hatch and landed silently on the ground next to one of the rear landing gear. The AI was closing the hatch after him when the four Nebari troopers ran up to the Wraith. They were pointing their Pulse rifles at the dark glass of the cockpit canopy and trying to distinguish if there was anyone aboard when Berret walked out from under the ship and shot all four before they realized he was there. Both Pulse pistols still smoking; he walked between their prone bodies toward the building. One man issued a moan as the Shrike stepped near him. Without stopping or looking at the wounded man, Berret shot him again once in the chest as he passed, not feeling a hint of sympathy for any of the men who would have taken his wife and children from him if they had been able.   
  
Berret arrived at the door to the building and found it to be armored and locked tight. There were no other openings visible to the Shrike, even though logic told him there had to be at least one other escape route. The Shrike did not have time to search for the hidden exit. Instead he set one of his pulse pistols to overload and jammed it under the handle and latch of the door. Moving off to one side he waited for the few microts it took the almost fully charged weapon's force chamber to build up and explode. The makeshift bomb didn't do too much damage to the armored door itself, but the door jam and wall were quite effectively blown apart in the blast, leaving the dented door to swing freely open. Berret quickly rushed inside, using the sudden explosion and settling dust to cover his entrance. As he cleared the doorway a pulse bolt slammed into the wall behind him. Through the thinning dust cloud he could make out two Nebari soldiers barricaded behind an over-turned desk. They had failed to give themselves enough room to easily raise and lower their Pulse rifles and the desk was interfering with them being able to shoot at him. Berret further threw them off by hitting the floor and rolling forward toward them instead of to the side toward cover. He thumbed the power selector on his remaining pistol up to full and pressed the trigger as it lined up with the desktop. The weapon rapidly spat bolt after bolt, chewing up the Nebari's cover until the desk was reduced to splinters. The stream of fire continued on to chop one of the men behind the desk almost in two. Berret swung the muzzle to cover the second Nebari and one of the first bolts glanced off his rifle stock and sent the man recoiling backwards before the over-heated weapon seized up and stopped firing.  
  
Without pause, Berret jumped to his feet and leaped over the remains of the desk as the second man attempted to regain his feet. Using the jammed pistol, Berret savagely bludgeoned the trooper until he stopped moving. Dropping the useless bloody weapon, he moved off down the hallway they had been protecting. Six down and five to go thought the Shrike, keeping a mental score card. A quick search showed him that all the rooms off that hallway were empty. The last doorway revealed a stairwell heading down into the lower levels. Berret slowly started to creep down the staircase and was almost at the next level when the door opened and a bookish looking Nebari carrying a satchel stuffed with film sheets and data-disks stepped out onto the staircase landing with him. Berret caught the surprised man by the front of his shirt with one armored covered hand and slammed him bodily into the wall of the stairwell. He drew his other arm back and the serrated blades snapped out ready to draw blood. The Nebari was obviously not a soldier, or Hyril... but the Shrike was not going to take the chance of leaving anybody alive behind him. The man was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time... dren happens he thought to himself. He had an odd thought that the man looked vaguely familiar under his clerk-like appearance. He was just about to thrust the blades forward when the man dropped the satchel to throw up his arms and yelled,   
"BERRET! HOLD!"  
The Shrike paused in mid-strike at the use of the name that even his crewmates so rarely used now. Tightening his grip on the man's shirt, he asked in a vicious hiss,   
"How do you know my name, Nebari?" Berret spat the name "Nebari" like it was a curse.   
The man's feigned look of terror fell away along with the clerk-like masquerade. Even under the ex-assassin's strong hold the man seemed to suddenly stand taller. The fear on his face was replaced by a very familiar grin.   
"Why wouldn't I know my own sister's bond-mate?" he said.  
  
Berret wasn't so easily buying the man's story. He slammed him against the wall again for good measure.   
"Don't play games with me, Nebari. I'm really not in the frelling mood. You can't possibly expect me to believe for a microt that you're my wife's brother... and if you were, seeing that he is the cause of this whole mess in a round about way. I wouldn't be real happy to see him about now."  
"I'm not... I don't care about when you're in the mood for sex... I do, ...and we'll have to talk about the last question some time later," replied the man, his offhand sense of humor so much like Chiana's.  
"Look here," he said and produced a holo-disk seemingly from thin air. The images appeared and rapidly cycled through a series. Most where of a young smiling Chiana and a younger version of the man he held before him. Seeing them side-by-side he couldn't doubt they were siblings anymore then he could doubt Jalen and Chulee. Berret eased his hold on the Nebari man and he gave the Shrike his Chiana-like smile again. Releasing him totally, he asked the man he'd never met, "What are you doing here, Nerri?"  
Nerri bent to retrieve some film sheets that had fallen loose from the bag in Berret's assault.  
"I have Chiana's file flagged on Nebari Prime so that if anyone should request to see it, it will send an alert out to me. She's remained well hidden these last few cycles with that group of yours. I was hoping they'd never find her, but Hyril somehow found her here and we didn't manage to arrive here until late last night. It was too late to do anything about the assault on your living quarters by the time we found out about it. Was anyone hurt or killed in the attack?" he asked.  
  
"Our son, Jalen, your nephew.... was seriously wounded. We don't know if he will survive," answered the Shrike. Nerri swore and slammed his fist into the wall.   
"I'm sorry, Berret. How is Chiana taking it?"  
"She's a strong woman, but it's never easy for anyone to face the possibly of losing a child," Berret said, his tone growing colder. To him it seemed the man had asked the questions with little more feeling then one would when inquiring about the weather.   
"That's why you're here then, for revenge... to kill Hyril," Nerri said as more statement than question.  
"I'm here to kill any Nebari I see, but especially... Hyril," answered the Shrike coolly. "I get like that when somebody tries to hurt my children."  
"Jared, they call you Jared now, don't they? I hope you don't think I'm unfeeling for my sister and you, or about what they've done to my nephew, but these documents are important to the Resistance. I would go with you to exact vengeance, but I have to see that these make it out of here and into the right hands. I replaced Hyril's normal Valet so I could get inside and get them out. Millions of Nebari lives and their freedom depend on it."  
"I see, hiding in plain sight inside your enemy's camp... how ingenuous," said the Shrike.  
Nerri started to smile until with a hard glare, the Shrike's voice turned even colder with pent-up rage,   
"So you didn't even try to come to your sister's aid or warn us. You left us... her family, to live or die on our own for frelling film disks?"  
"But the Resistance..." began Nerri.   
"Frell the Resistance, Nerri!" snapped Berret, pushing closer to crowd the man.   
"I don't care about your Resistance... let all the Nebari die. I care only about Chiana and my children. I don't want your help; the only thing I want to know from you is... where is Hyril at this microt."  
"He's down on the lowest level... with the three remaining troopers," Nerri replied with a swallow, not knowing now where he stood with his sister's bond-mate.  
"The only reason I don't leave you here dead with the rest is because you are Chiana's brother... and if I find out you let this happen to get those documents, that you used us as pawns in your game. You will be a dead man," warned Berret.  
"Now, go outside to the Wraith scout ship that's sitting by the air schooner and wait for me to return. Do not try to leave in the schooner, the Wraith has orders to destroy any craft approaching or leaving the area."   
Berret started to continue down the staircase, "And we 'will' talk about this at a later time."  
"Jared!" Nerri called one last time to his back.  
Without looking behind him, Berret said, "Not - Another - Word, Nerri!"  
  
Trooper Foram rushed into the room. "We are under attack, Abettor!" he cried.  
"No frelling dren!" shouted Hyril in return. "I thought all that gun fire was normal! Imbecile! How many men in the attacking force?" he asked the trooper next.  
"Unknown... there is a Peacekeeper scout craft in front of the building," the trooper reported  
"Peacekeepers! It can't be them here. You must be mistaken," Hyril said.  
"I am sure of it, Abettor. It is a light surveillance scout ship used by the Peacekeepers," confirmed the soldier. "They have already penetrated the building's perimeter and I believe they are between us and the escape tunnel," he continued.  
"Frell! How many of the men are left to defend this office?" Hyril asked.  
"Three... including myself. We have lost contact with all the others."   
"Pull back into the reception room and hold position there," the Nebari official ordered.  
Not having any other choice, the trooper left to carry out the orders to make their last stand.  
  
Berret had reached the last landing above the final floor of the safe house just as the bottom door creaked open a few hentas and somebody put in eye to the crack. Berret froze in place hoping the shadows would hide him from view from below. The door opened further and the Nebari soldier stuck his head out for a better view of the stairwell. Below Berret and at the bottom left side of the staircase was a short walkway with an alcove and storage closet. Berret eased a power pack clip from one of his gun belts and placed it on the floor near the edge of the landing. Waiting for the trooper to step further away from the door, the Shrike removed a metal disk from another pouch at his belt. Pressing the center of the object, four blades slid out and locked, giving the disk a star-like shape. The Nebari took the step outside the door that the ex-assassin was waiting for and Berret nudged the power pack over the side with the toe of his boot.  
The clip hit the floor by the closet door with a metallic clack. The Nebari froze in place for a microt and then raised his rifle and started to creep stalkingly toward the alcove. Berret squeezed the center of the disk in his hand again and stepped out onto the open landing. His hand snapped downward and the disk left it, whirling through the air to bury itself in the breastplate of the Nebari man's battle armor. The trooper stepped back at the sudden slight impacted and stared down at the bladed object sticking out of his armor. Looking back to where it had come from, he saw Berret still standing in plain view on the landing, obviously unarmed without a Pulse gun as far as the trooper was concerned. He began to chuckle at the man who though he could attack a fully armed and armored soldier with such an ineffective weapon. He raised his weapon and the man still stood there not moving or even trying to get away. He had just settled the Pulse rifles sights on the figure when the disk started to beep. The disk beeped faster until it became a steady tone all within a microt or two. Dropping his rifle to let it hang by it's sling, he clawed at the object trying to dislodge it from his armor. Realizing in his last microts of life it was already too late as the disk exploded, blowing a fist size hole through the armor and his chest.  
  
The Shrike watched dispassionately as the Nebari's body toppled over. The man's comm clicked on and a voice called for the troopers to retreat to the outer reception room and hold position. Berret went to the body and removed the comm in case it turned out to be useful later. He discarded the idea taking the Pulse rifle as it had become jammed with body parts from the Nebari and would take to long to clean it for use. The Shrike slipped through the door and began searching the remaining floor. He almost walked into the next trooper who was obviously looking for his comrade in the stairwell. The man was edgy and ready. His Pulse rifle already pointed ahead of him, he thrust it at the Shrike point blank and pulled the trigger. The bolt hit the ex-assassin dead center in the chest and threw him back several steps the way he had just come. Berret landed flat on his back and remained still. The excited Nebari kept the body covered as he keyed his comm,  
"I just killed one! He's here in the clerk's office," he reported to his superior.  
The voice on the other end said that he'd be there right away. The trooper keyed off his comm and cautiously approached the Shrike, poking the prone form with the muzzle of his rifle. When the body didn't respond, he moved in even closer to inspect his trophy.  
"What the hezmana are you suppose to be?" he asked more to himself then the oddly garbed body as he moved the cloak's hood aside to see the man's face. The body's eyes blinked open in the next instant.  
"Death," hissed a graveyard voice as twin blades rammed into his throat.  
  
Foram arrived at the clerk's office to find the other trooper kneeling over a prone body on the floor.   
"What do you have?" he asked for a report as he bent down beside the other soldier.  
The man didn't answer him and annoyed, Foram grabbed the insubordinate trooper by the shoulder.   
"I said, what the frell do you ha..." he started to say again but never finished because the other trooper fell over backward at his touch. The man was staring out of shocked eyes and had a pair of gapping holes in his throat. The second body surged up from the floor, one of its legs shooting out and sweeping Foram's legs out from under him. The Nebari crashed to the floor as the other body continued to rise in a swirl of black cloak. The black shape seemed to flow directly at him and the last thing he remembered seeing was the glint of flashing blades before everything went dark forever.  
Berret stood upright as the blades retracted into his gauntlets. Sweeping aside his cloak he inspected his armor. His own chest plates had absorbed the pulse bolt and were now burnt brown in color instead of the dark bluish-black color of gunmetal. They would not withstand another hit from a pulse bolt until they had been realigned again. It didn't matter to Berret, if Nerri's information was corrected the only Nebari left was Hyril. He paused a few microts to prepare one last surprise for the Nebari Official and then turning; he left the room behind.  
  
"Foram! Answer me, frell you!" Hyril shouted into the comm, as if shouting could make the device work better. None of the troopers answered his calls and his fear was mounting. He'd just slammed the comm back down on his desk when the door to his office opened a crack.   
"Foram? Is that you?" he called again toward the doorway.  
When no answer came back, he tried, "Who is it? Who's there?"  
In reply there was a strange lopsided rolling sound. Something tumbled past the opened door and into his office. Hyril couldn't make out what the object was until it came to rest in the middle of the floor.  
It was Foram's detached head.  
Hyril screamed and dived back toward his desk, scrambling for the Pulse pistol he'd left lying there.  
His hand had just closed around the grip when a cold familiar voice said,   
"That won't do you any good."  
Hyril spun around to see a black-cloaked form standing over Foram's disembodied head.  
"What the frell!" Hyril cried raising the pistol toward the figure. The Shrike responded by kicking Foram's head up and into Hyril's face. The impacted from the detached head drove the Nebari backwards.  
Before he could recover, Berret had crossed the room and twisted the Pulse pistol out of Hyril's grasp.  
Berret pulled back the cloak's hood so the Nebari Abettor could see his face.  
"You just couldn't leave well enough alone. You had to come after my family," growled the Shrike into the man's face.  
  
Hyril bend backwards over his desk trying to put some distance between the angry killer and himself.  
"It was ordered by Ambassador Lerris, himself," he said attempting to pass the blame. "I was just following the orders given to me by my superior."  
Berret backhanded the man. "But you arranged it!" he accused.   
The Nebari tried to work his way off the desk but Berret stayed on top of him, not giving him any room.   
"We had to! If the Hynerians or anyone else discovered information out about certain projects it would have spelled disaster for the Nebari!" he offered as explanation.  
"You mean the Contagion. The Dominar and his people have known about it for cycles!" Berret snapped. "We already knew what your government did to my bond-mate when she was younger. You've already done her enough harm, you should have just left her, and us in peace."  
Hyril's face fell at the revelation that one of his government's darkest secrets wasn't so secret after all.   
"You still haven't given me a good reason why you ordered my wife taken and our children killed... and why you were willing to kill the rest of our friends to accomplish the act," growled Berret.   
"She was a carrier... she had to be recovered and silenced!" Hyril stammered. "The children are impure. They cannot be allowed to taint Nebari society. It is common practice to eliminate half-breeds when we discover them."  
The words infuriated and distracted Berret enough that he didn't realize that the man had been slowly reaching for a hidden dagger in his belt, until the blade was swinging at his throat. Almost too late, Berret tucked his head back far enough that the dagger missed his throat but still sliced him along his jaw line. Using that opening, Hyril drew back a fist and punched the Shrike in the face, driving him backwards.  
  
Alternately throwing punches, and swinging and stabbing with the blade, Hyril drove Berret into the middle of the room. Berret recovered enough to fend off the blade and most of the hand strikes. Unexpectedly Hyril dropped low and stabbed upward at the Shrike's chest. The dagger jammed itself between Berret's armor plates and managed to penetrate the ballistic cloth underneath. The point of the knife speared through flesh and glanced off one of the man's ribs. Berret cursed to himself for being both careless and now not knowing the extent of his wound. The Shrike twisted his body away from Hyril and with a change of luck for Berret, the dagger's thin blade snapped off in his armor, leaving Hyril without a weapon. Hyril stepped in and threw several more punches and kicks at Berret. However, this time Berret was ready for the attack. The Shrike slapped aside most of the blows and flowed inside the man's reach, landing several of his own strikes to Hyril's body. Rising upward, the last blow put an armored cased fist into Hyril's jaw. The Nebari stumbled backwards with the Shrike following him. Enraged now that this man meant to murder his children and take his wife... and may have yet in fact, succeeded in killing his son, Berret grabbed the Nebari by his belt and lifted the man upright clear of the floor and over his head.  
"You murdering piece of frelling dren!" spat the Shrike as he slammed him up against the nearest wall.   
"This is for my son, you bastard," Berret's voice breaking as he triggered the blades.  
  
Hyril's eyes shot opened in painful shock as both sets of blades tore through his abdomen below his belt.  
Berret released his hold and Hyril's own weight forced the edges to cut deeper into him. His thick belt parted as the blades cut through it and further up into his stomach.   
"I told you... you'd die hard if you frelled with my family, you should have listened and left us alone," whispered the Shrike to the dying man before jerking the blades free of his body.   
Hyril fell to the floor with a loud moan; still alive he tried to keep his internal organs from sliding out of the wounds in his belly. The blades snapped back into the gauntlets, and Berret watched the man for several microts, almost making himself sick at the extent of his own cruelty before saying,   
"You've made me once again what I've tried to walk away from... resurrecting a part of me that I hoped my children would never see. That is the only thing your new Nebari order has given birth too."   
He reached down and tore a necklace with a family crest from Hyril's neck. Berret turned from the gasping Official toward the office door. Before he reached it he turned back and said,   
"It will be arns before you die. You don't deserve it, but if you can make it back to a population center... you might yet live. That is, if you can make it from here to transportation."  
Berret turned his back on Hyril for the last time and walked out the door.   
Nerri was waiting for him outside by the Wraith as he had been instructed. He rose up as Berret approached; not quite believing the man was still alive.  
"Those stories I've heard about you must be true then, though I'd hardly thought to believe them," said Chiana's brother. Berret looked at Nerri with a silent haunted expression for a few microts.  
Finally he tapped his comm. "Wraith," he said.  
"On line, Shrike," came the mechanical voice.  
"Destroy the Schooner," Berret commanded.  
"Acknowledged," the AI responded instantly.   
The missile bay door slid back and the rack dropped down. A spear shaped projectile shot out riding on a ball of fire and the Schooner cease to be in a flash and clap of Peacekeeper thunder.   
"Believe only the bad ones," finally answered the Shrike bitterly. 


	12. Chapter 11

Berret set the Wraith down by the crew's Transport Pod on the palace's landing pad. He'd paused only long enough to remove Hyril's dagger blade from where it had caught in his armor. The wound wasn't as deep as he first thought when he inspected it and he thought it could wait until later to be tended. The palace Elite Guards were on alert but gave them no trouble as he and Chiana's bother left the port and went directly to the Med-quarters. They however looked rather distrustfully at Nerri but didn't bother him as long as he was in Berret's company. D'argo, Jothee, and John were sitting in the waiting area quietly talking as the pair entered.   
"Uh-oh," said Crichton as he caught sight of the Nebari and the Shrike in full armor. "There's a blast from the past," he muttered as his hand inched closer to his Pulse pistol. When it became obvious by Berret's attitude that Nerri was not a threat, the three crewmates relaxed. D'argo rose and met them halfway across the room, without being asked he said,   
"There is still no change in Jalen's condition... and 'she' is in the mood I predicted."   
He paused and gave a questioning look at Nebari man, not recognizing him. Berret thanked the big warrior and throwing a glance over his shoulder at Nerri simply said,   
"Family," as he continued to walk toward his son's room and Chiana with Nerri following close behind.  
  
Berret slowly eased the door open and at the sound, Chiana lifted her head from her arms were they rested along the side of Jalen's bed.   
"Jared!" she said relieved to see him as he stepped into the room. Her face went from relief to anger as she rose from her seat. Berret stepped to one side and her brother filled the doorway behind him.   
A stunned look came over Chiana's exhausted face as if she couldn't believe her eyes.  
"Nerri?" she asked, and as the man grinned at her, she said more surely, "Nerri!" Her anger forgotten for the moment she ran into her brother's arms. Nerri lifted her off her feet as they hugged.   
" 'Ana!" he repeated over and over. "It's so good to see you."   
Berret left brother and sister to reunite and pulling off his armored half-gloves, walked over to his son's bed. He held one of the boy's hands and placed his other hand on his chest to reassure himself his son's heart still beat as his wife and Nerri talked excitedly for a few microns. Berret was lost in his own thoughts and worries over his son and didn't realize that Chiana had brought Nerri over to join him beside the med-bed until they spoke. Nerri brushed hair from his nephew's face and stroked his cheek.   
"Don't worry, 'Ana. He will pull through this just fine, you'll see," Nerri assured her.   
Chiana nodded and hugged her brother again, before pushing herself away from him.   
"Ummm... Nerri, I need to talk to my bond-mate for a few microns. Will you please give us a some time in private?" she asked. Nerri told her he understood and walked out, closing the door behind him.  
  
When they where alone in the room, Chiana stepped in front of Berret. The look on her face was caught somewhere between hot anger and equally hot tears. Her lip slightly trembled as she drew back her hand and slapped Berret across the face.   
"You bastard!" she cried. "You left your son laying in a med-bed to go off on some personal vendetta! How could you do that?" she asked, her voice wavering in emotion. "I though we were past all that. He wasn't as important as our son."  
"I know," said the Shrike, strangely her slap pained him a hundred times more then the healing slice along his jaw or the knife wound combined. It was the first time he could remember her ever striking him in real anger.  
"Then why did you do it? Why did you leave us?" she demanded to know.  
"Because I wanted us to be safe again. We couldn't be safe as long as Hyril lived," Berret answered quietly.  
"That's pure dren and you know it!" she shot back. "You just wanted revenge."  
"Yes... that too, but it still doesn't alter the fact that if nothing was done they still would have kept coming after us," he admitted looking back down at his son's still form. "Until they've taken everything I ever cared about," his voice drifting off as he finished the thought more to himself then his wife.  
"If you felt that way, why didn't you tell me?" she asked. "We... are suppose to be partners, remember? You and I... together always, that's what we swore at our bonding." Chiana cocked her head, looking up at him waiting to see if he had something to say, but he remained silent. "We are suppose to be a family," Chiana swept her arm wide to include their son, "But as always, you chose to keep me in the dark, as if I don't have a choice about what happens to us."  
She pounded both her fists against his chest in frustration, not caring about the armor plates.  
"You are not the only one who matters, Jared. You don't get to make all the decisions for the rest of us!"  
  
  
  
  
Berret caught her hands before the stubborn woman injured them against the metal covering his torso.  
"I realize that, Chiana," he told her. "I made the wrong choices... but at the time they seemed the only ones I could make."  
"Then why didn't you take D'argo with you instead of double talking him into a corner. You threw his customs and warrior's honor back in his face! Why did you make that choice?" she threw back at him.  
"D'argo has a son, and Zhaan... who both need him," said Berret.  
"And you have a son, a daughter, and me! You'll have to do better then that," she said crossing her arms in front of her chest as she glared at him.  
"Don't you think I know that!" he snapped, startling Chiana. "You and the children are everything to me! It's because of me that Jalen is where he is now and that the Nebari almost killed the rest of us. Do you really think I could ask D'argo to put his life and his family on the line again to correct my mistake! I don't have that right to ask him to possibly die because I frelled up! This was all my fault," he told her.  
Chiana had rarely seen Berret in this condition. He wasn't so much angry with her as he was so all out angry with himself and it began to concern her.   
"What do you mean it was your mistake?" she asked, "How did you frell up?"  
Berret turned from her and walked over to the nearest chair and flopped himself down in it, the chair slightly creaked from the weight of his body and armor. He took a microt to rub at his temples in the hope of relieving some of his pent-up tension and to gather his thoughts.   
"Think, Pixie... I've handled the whole situation wrong from the beginning," he said in a calmer voice. "If I had done anything else but grabbed Hyril by the throat in the market place... none of this might have happened. Jalen would not have been hurt... and you, Chulee, and the others wouldn't have been put into danger last night. Instead I made it personal with him, a public insult... and now we're all paying for it," he finished sounding guilty. "This is all my fault. I put us in this danger because I didn't think before I acted."  
"Oh?" said Chiana stepping closer to him, "and how and why do you think it could have turned out different? What could you have done?"  
"I don't know... we could have talked our way out of it. We could have lied. Even just running away would have been better. Maybe it would have given him a good of enough laugh he would have forgotten about seeing a Nebari woman bonded to an alien man."  
Chiana sat herself down on the arm of his chair. "For some of my people, that would be reason enough alone to come after us. Most of the upper class on Nebari Prime do not believe in interspecies mingling. Everyone must conform and live by their standards as happy zombies. I think running would just have encouraged him anyway, his type thrives on the fear of others," she said as she used her fingers to comb his hair from his forehead. Berret closed his eyes enjoying his wife's gentle caress.   
"Don't get too comfortable... I'm still angry with you," she told him with a tiny tug on one of his locks.  
  
Berret nodded his head. "I know and I am sorry," he told her and let her stroking go on for another few microts before opening his eyes again.   
"Either way, I still didn't use my head and think things through in the market. I should either have tucked tail and run with all of you or killed him right then and there instead of hesitating. No matter what I frelled up."  
"Yes, you don't use your head for a lot of things... like not telling me what you had planned, not accepting D'argo's help, or letting Rygel know what you were going to do either," she said. "Which by the way, I'm going to have the same talk with Pilot that I had with D'argo about helping or letting you run off to do stupid things. I know Pilot had the Wraith prepped for you and never said a word to the rest of us."  
Berret winced at the statement. "You really gave it to D'argo, huh?" he asked.  
Chiana was examining the cut along his jaw and shaking her head. "As a matter of fact, I did," she said tearing open a sterile cleansing clothe package and cleaning up the wound. "And when I was done with him, Zhaan had some things to say to him also."  
Berret dropped his head down against the back of his chair and moaned out loud.   
"Ohhhhhh... he's going to get even with me for this later. Isn't he?"  
"I think that would be safe to say," replied Chiana. "I don't think I've ever seen a Luxan more thoroughly chewed out then the great Ka'D'Argo was. Now hold still, you fidget worse then Chulee. Honestly, I should just let you bleed to death if you don't stop acting like Crichton and rushing into things without thinking."   
To Berret's horror he found himself becoming ashamed at the small woman's scolding.   
"I guess maybe I shouldn't tell you about the knife wound then?" he said.  
"I have three children instead of two," she said under her breath as she moved on to the next wound. Berret wisely remain silent for the next few microns as she worked at patching him back together.  
"Rygel's upset too?" he asked when she was done.  
"Well, it is his planet and he is trying for an alliance with my people against whoever wins the war. I can imagine he's not going to be happy about you living up to your title and going around and killing the Ambassador's staff," his wife reminded him. Berret though for a microt,   
"No, I don't think Rygel will miss Hyril. He offered to help me hide the body," he said idly.  
Chiana rolled her eyes, "I can see maybe I'll have to have a talk and maybe a little ear twisting with the Dominar too if he did know what you were up to."   
Berret assured her that Rygel wasn't involved and the Nebari girl went on to say.  
"It's not just me who's upset... it's the others too. You have to remember that it's not just you, me, and the kids who make up our whole family. We're all family on Moya and you have to learn to rely on the rest of us when you think you have a problem or something needs to be done. That's what hurt us most is you didn't ask for our help, we stand and fight together."  
Chiana looked deep into his eyes, "Do you understand what I'm saying?" she asked him.  
For the first time, Berret looked at the situation from the other crewmembers' point of view. It really didn't matter who was at fault, the end result was they all stood together no matter what and without realizing it, he'd walked away from their support. Not having anything he could say in his own defense, he nodded his head, surrendering to his wife's wisdom. He had a lot of apologizing to do, not just too D'argo, but to all his crewmates... his family.  
  
The next day the crewmates were anxiously gathered in the waiting room of the Med-quarters as Zhaan and several Med-techs examined Jalen. It was the first time they'd all been together since Berret's return and Aeryn was taking the opportunity to give him a chewing out to equal the one the Luxan received. D'argo seemed content to wait until a later time to exact his own vengeance. Still he was obviously enjoying the spectacle of the Sebacean woman tearing the tall Shrike up one side and then down the other.   
"That was really frelling stupid, Jared!" admonished Aeryn at the end of her lecture, "You should have waited and informed the rest of us of your intentions."  
"I agree," said Rygel as he floated into the waiting room on his throne. "Tell me, Shrike... are you planning any more impromptu assassinations while you're here?" asked the Hynerian with an amused smile.  
"It's not funny, Rygel. Now the Nebari will be on the hunt for us," said the ex-Peacekeeper fuming.  
"I don't think so," drawled Rygel, "Lerris has been so busy trying to kiss my eema to make me believe that Hyril acted on his own without sanction from Nebari Prime that I don't think he'll ever want to hear any of your names again... not that he knows any of them except for our two pale Nebari siblings."  
"Was any of the information Nerri provided of any use to you?" asked John.  
Rygel clapped his hands together gleefully. "Let us just say... I have enough dren on the Nebari to keep them in line long beyond the time this war and the take-over will last. And besides, Lerris personally believes that Jared's visit to Hyril was my 'unofficial' retribution for the attack on the Palace."  
Rygel began to chuckle. "The fool hasn't even considered the thought that the assassin and Chiana's bond-mate were one in the same... and of course if that is what he wishes to believe, who am I to correct him?"  
  
A bemused smirk touched one side of Berret's lips and broke through the drawn look of concern that had occupied his face for so many arns.   
"What are you smirking about?" asked Chiana quietly.   
"Other then Hyril's personal stake in the matter, the Nebari's basic goal in this whole situation was to capture you, because... one, you were a carrier of the Contagion... but we and the Hynerian government have already know that for cycles... seeing Rygel is the ruler of Hyneria. Two... they wanted to use you to capture Nerri, who was practically roaming about under their noses. This whole thing would in fact be almost very amusing if it wasn't for what Stoma did to Jalen," he said with a look of depression settling back on his face at the thought of his injured son.  
"Well, I guess you can say the Nebari are a long way from having their act together," commented Crichton.   
"The Resistance has gone along way to see to it that they never do again," said Nerri. The Nebari man turned to his sister, "I am sorry, 'Ana, for what happened to Jalen. I'm also sorry that I let my part in the Resistance keep us apart for so long. I became so caught up in working for the cause that I forgot what we were fighting for. Maybe it's time I took a break and stepped back for awhile... and got to know my family again."  
"I'd like that," said Chiana as she hugged him. "What do you think about having Nerri stay with us for a while, Jared?" she asked her bond-mate.   
Berret twisted his face as if deeply considering the prospect.  
"We do still have several things to discuss," he finally said giving Nerri a meaningful look. "But I believe the children would like a chance to get to know their Uncle. Of course, you'll have to ask Rygel if he can stay here on Hyneria, as you said before... it is his planet."  
Chiana looked over at Rygel, "How about it Ryg? Would it be okay?" she asked giving him a small smile.  
"I don't know," he said thoughtfully while tapping his stubby fingers on his chin. "With two Nebari here in the Palace, I'll have to double the usual guards on the vaults... ouch!" he said as Chiana playfully slapped him. "I was only thinking out loud!" he said in his own defense. "Of course your brother can stay," he told her.  
Berret smiled seeing his wife banter with Rygel and Nerri, knowing that the Hynerian was purposely being annoying to distract her. Giving her a micron's respite from the long heartbreaking arns of sitting and waiting by Jalen's bed. Further conversation paused as Zhaan and the chief Medical Officer for the Medical Center entered the waiting area and approached the companions.  
"If you're ready," Zhaan said to Chiana and Jared, "We've decided we are going to try to wake Jalen now."  
Chiana reached over and grabbed hold of Berret's hand, giving it a squeeze, which he returned.  
"We're ready, Zhaan," she said, all the weight of her worries settling back on her. Zhaan turned away and lead the group back toward Jalen's room. Chiana hooked Nerri's arm with hers as she passed, pulling him along into the room with the rest of Jalen's extended family.   
  
"Jalen? Come on, Baby. Wake up..."  
Jalen groggily opened his eyes. "Mom?" he asked the blurry pale shape before him in a weak voice.  
"Yes, honey," Chiana said and the boy could almost hear the smile in her voice. "How do you feel?" his mother asked.   
Jalen thought a few microts and then said, "I feel... 'funny'," trying to find the correct word to describe his light headed floating sensation.  
"That's okay, sweetheart. Aunt Zhaan gave you something to make you feel better," she explained to her son.   
"Where's Dad?" he asked as he started to remember bits of what happened to him.   
"I'm right here, Jalen," said the tall dark figure beside the shape that was slowly turning into his mother as his eyes adjusted. The boy perked up at the sound of his father's voice.   
"That man! What happ..." he started to say, his voice turning to little more then a croak in his excitement.  
"It's all right, 'Len. That man can't hurt you anymore. Papa Rygel locked him in his prison where he'll never be able to hurt anyone again," his father assured him. "We're just happy you're all right."  
After a few microts, Jalen's sight cleared enough for him to see the rest of the room and everybody in it. The rest of the crew called happy greetings and talked with the boy. Jothee gave him a small version of a Qualta blade that he and his father had made for him. Telling the boy that having been wounded in battle now made him a warrior in Luxan eyes. Berret caught D'argo's eye and the big Luxan assured him that the blade was non-functional and more a decoration than anything, still Jalen swelled with pride at the gift. A holo-comm had been set up in the boy's room and from it Pilot clamored for attention. Pilot spoke with the boy and relayed all of Moya's questions and good wishes. After a few microts an aid came in and handed Rygel a message. The Hynerian read the slip of paper and muttered to himself, " Oh, dren!"   
"What's wrong, Rygel!" asked Aeryn fearing more bad news.   
Seeing the ex-Peacekeeper fingering her Pulse pistol, Rygel held up his hand and gave a short chuckle.  
"Nothing bad, nothing bad," he reassured. "It's only that now Moya seems to be jamming half the planet's communications... again."  
"We are sorry, Rygel," said Pilot, "Moya is having trouble controlling her cries of happiness."  
"Well, I guess that can be overlooked on this occasion.... but don't let her keep it up too long," Rygel warned.   
"Jalen," said Chiana, "There's someone here I want you to meet."   
The Nebari woman held out her hand and the crewmates parted to let Nerri go to her. At seeing the strange Nebari man, Jalen started to shrink back into his bed in fear.   
"It's okay, honey," said his mother as she took Nerri's hand. "This is your Uncle Nerri. You remember me telling you about him, don't you? He's come a long way to visit you."   
Jalen looked around at his father and the others. Seeing they weren't upset with the man's presence he concluded that he must be safe. He timidly held out his hand and the older Nebari man gently gripped his forearm in a warrior's greeting.  
"How are you, little one? I've waited a long time to met you."   
The man's smile was just like his mother's, Jalen thought.  
  
Chiana and Berret stayed in Jalen's room that night. The Nebari woman was in much better spirits and kidded her husband about having the Elite guards manacle him to his chair so he wouldn't disappear again in the night. There was no need for that precaution since Joban had brought Chulee to the Med-quarters to see her brother that afternoon and she was now curled up asleep on her father's lap. Berret was as good as chained to his seat with his daughter's head resting on his chest. The little girl clutched not only her Nebari doll to her own chest but also a second doll, Nella, Joban's youngest daughter, had given her during her stay with the family. Berret tried to get the girl to set one doll aside so she'd be more comfortable but she refused saying the dolls were now sisters and would remain with her to help watch to make sure her Daddy didn't leave during the night again. Berret raised an eyebrow at his wife in silent question as to what she'd been telling their daughter, but Chiana would only answer him with a smile. Berret had a sinking feeling that, as Chulee grew older that she was going to be more like her mother... and that meant stubborn Nebari females would soon outnumber Berret. The thought made him smile and he decided that would be a burden he would gladly bear.  
Chulee stirred slightly in his arms and one of the dolls slid down onto the chair's seat, though Berret couldn't see it to tell which one it was. He kissed the snow-white hair on his daughter's head and wrapped his arms around her a little tighter making the little girl murmur in her sleep. Across from him a smiling Chiana watched them through half hooded eyes. "Love you," she silently mouthed to him as she slid down in her own chair and propped her feet up to rest on his thighs.   
"You too," he mouthed back to her as her eyes finally closed.   
Berret looked over at his peacefully sleeping son. Zhaan had said that it may take awhile but the boy would recover, and the others were considering staying longer on Hyneria until he was well enough to travel with them safely on Moya. The Shrike glanced back over at his now sleeping wife. The last few days having exhausted her and with Jalen recovering, she was now able to sleep soundly even in the Med-quarter's chair. The rest of their friends were safe now in their temporary quarters. Berret gave silent thanks to the Goddess; they had survived the crisis as a whole and still remained an extended family. His wife and children around him, Berret gave himself over to sleep and his dreams were pleasant. 


End file.
